What U.S. Employers Look for in New Graduates: Insights from NACE 2026 Data on Resumes, Interviews, and Internships

When looking for their first job in the U.S., many Chinese students' first instinct is to "boost their GPA and fill up their resumes." However, the way U.S. employers screen new graduates has changed significantly in recent years. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) conducts an annual survey on the campus recruiting practices of U.S. employers. This article uses several data points released by NACE in 2026 to clarify what U.S. employers are looking for in new graduates, and how to tailor your resume, interview, and internship preparation accordingly.

1. GPA Still Matters, but It's No Longer the Primary Hurdle

A survey released by NACE in January 2026 (conducted in August–September 2025 with 183 employers participating) shows:

• In 2019, 73% of employers screened candidates by GPA; now, only 42% do;
• 70% of employers use "skills-based hiring" (up from 65% the previous year), and 71% of employers do so at least half the time;
• This practice is most commonly used during interviews (87%) and resume screening (65%); 81% of employers specify required skills in their job descriptions.

In other words, while GPA is still a metric reviewed by four out of ten employers and cannot be ignored, more and more employers care about whether you can provide evidence proving you have the skills required for the role.

2. What Skills Do Employers Want to See Most?

According to NACE's April 2026 report, the top skills employers want to see on new graduate resumes are:

1. Teamwork;
2. Problem-solving;
3. Communication skills.

Other desired skills include technical abilities, professional work ethic, and analytical and quantitative skills, with over half of the employers listing more than 10 expected skills.

The president of NACE emphasized one point in the report: Simply listing skills is not enough; employers want to see examples. Students should review their coursework, practicums, extracurricular activities, and work experience to identify where they developed these skills, and be prepared to explain them specifically in interviews.

3. Internships Are the Most Direct Stepping Stone

An internship survey released by NACE in April 2026 (conducted from October 2025 to January 2026 with 284 organizations participating) shows:

• The intern-to-full-time conversion rate for 2024–25 is 63.1%, the highest in five years, up nearly 13% from the previous year;
• Among interns who received full-time offers, 88.3% accepted them.

NACE also noted that among equally qualified candidates, employers often prefer those with internship experience. For international students, this means an internship during your studies is highly likely to be the source of your first job after graduation. For how to intern within the rules, see our articles on undergraduate internships and graduate internships.

4. Resumes: Shift from "Listing" to "Providing Evidence"

Based on the data above, here is how you can revise your resume:

• Tailor it to the job description. 81% of employers include required skills in their job descriptions. For each position you apply for, circle the key skills in the description first, then check if your resume addresses them with specific experiences.
• Write every experience as "Action + Result." Instead of "Responsible for data analysis," write "Cleaned and analyzed 30,000 sales records using Python, identified two factors affecting repurchase rates, and the findings were adopted into the team's Q2 marketing plan." Numbers and results make it evidence.
• Demonstrate teamwork and problem-solving with examples. Instead of writing "Excellent teamwork skills," describe what role you took in a group project and what conflicts or challenges you resolved.
• Be specific about technical skills and tools. Clearly state the programming languages, software, and analytical methods you know, and mention which projects you used them in.

5. Interviews: Prepare Five to Eight "Stories"

87% of employers evaluate skills during interviews, most commonly through behavioral interviews: "Tell me about a time when you..." Here is how to prepare:

1. Select five to eight experiences: coursework projects, internships, clubs, competitions, and part-time jobs all count.
2. Structure each experience using the "Situation-Task-Action-Result" (STAR) method, focusing on "what you specifically did" and "what the outcome was."
3. Map each experience to specific skills: which one shows teamwork, which one shows problem-solving, and which one shows communication. The same experience can be told from different angles.
4. Practice repeatedly in English, keeping each story to about two minutes. Record yourself and listen back to ensure the logic is clear and the results are well-defined.

For more resume and interview tips for your first internship, check out this article.

6. Suggested Timeline

• First year of enrollment: Attend career center events, build a foundational resume, and accumulate coursework projects and club experiences.
• Around the summer after the first year: Secure your first internship or research experience, even if it is small-scale.
• The year before graduation: Target companies often start their internship recruiting early; apply according to the timelines on their official websites. Treat the internship as an opportunity to secure a full-time offer.
• The semester before graduation: If you do not yet have a full-time offer, prepare for full-time applications and post-graduation work visa procedures simultaneously.

Conclusion

Based on this data, U.S. employers are increasingly valuing "what you can do" over "what your grades are." The most effective way to prepare is to transform your resume from a list of skills into evidence of your experiences, prepare a few clear stories for your interviews, and solidify this evidence through internships.

If you need help with resume editing, mock interviews, or career planning in North America, feel free to chat with our career counseling advisors.

Verification note: The data in this article was verified against the original text on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) website on September 26, 2026: data on skills-based hiring and GPA screening was released on January 12, 2026; intern conversion rate data was released on April 3, 2026; and employer expected skills were released on April 23, 2026. NACE surveys primarily target U.S. employers, so the conclusions may not apply to all countries and industries.

References:

• NACE: Employer Use of Skills-Based Hiring Practices Grows (January 2026)
• NACE: Intern Conversion Rate Hits Highest Mark in Five Years (April 2026)
• NACE: The High-Impact Skills College Students Should Showcase on Their Resumes (April 2026)