Employers have long said that communication matters. New evidence suggests something slightly more important: they increasingly want graduates to prove that they can communicate, rather than simply claim that they can.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2026 Spring Update reports that, when recruiting graduates for entry-level positions, employers are particularly looking for evidence of three core capabilities: teamwork, problem-solving and communication. More than half of the employers surveyed identified ten or more different skills they wanted to see in candidates.

This reflects a broader change in graduate recruitment. According to NACE, 70% of employers now report using skills-based hiring, up from 65% the previous year, and 71% of those employers use it at least half of the time.

The degree still matters. But increasingly, employers want to know what a graduate can actually do.

The important word is “evidence”

This creates an interesting problem for universities and students.

A CV can say:

Excellent communication skills.

But what does that actually demonstrate?

Almost every graduate can make the same claim. Employers therefore increasingly look for examples: situations in which candidates have communicated complex ideas, worked with others, solved problems or explained something clearly to a particular audience.

NACE's advice is essentially show, don't just tell. Students need to identify experiences in which they have developed these skills and be able to articulate them during applications and interviews.

Communication is particularly interesting because, unlike many graduate attributes, it can actually be demonstrated.

A student does not have to tell an employer that they are a good communicator.

They can show them.

A short research talk is evidence

This is one reason initiatives such as the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) are potentially much more significant than simply being academic competitions.

A researcher taking part in a 3MT has to explain a complex piece of research to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes.

Doing that successfully requires several transferable skills simultaneously.

The speaker has to identify what is important, discard unnecessary technical detail, structure an argument, communicate clearly, engage an audience and work within a strict constraint.

Those are not abstract claims about employability. They are observable behaviours.

And they are remarkably close to the capabilities employers say they want.

The distinction matters because employers themselves see room for improvement. NACE's 2026 research found that employers rank communication among the most important career-readiness skills for new graduates, but are less impressed with graduates' communication abilities than with their teamwork skills.

For postgraduate researchers, the issue may be particularly acute. A PhD provides compelling evidence of technical expertise, persistence and intellectual ability, but those qualities may not be immediately apparent to someone recruiting outside the candidate's specialist discipline.

Being able to explain that research clearly changes the equation.

From CV to evidence portfolio

Graduate recruitment may therefore be moving towards something closer to a portfolio model of employability.

Instead of merely listing attributes—

• Communication
• Critical thinking
• Leadership
• Problem-solving

—graduates will increasingly benefit from being able to attach evidence to them.

For software developers, that might be a GitHub repository.

For designers, it is already standard practice to provide a portfolio.

For researchers, one of the simplest forms of evidence could be a short video demonstrating their ability to communicate their work.

This is where platforms such as my-thesis.org can potentially play a useful role.

my-thesis indexes short research presentations and connects them to searchable researcher profiles. Rather than allowing a three-minute presentation to disappear after a university competition or graduation ceremony, it can become part of a researcher's persistent professional identity.

A graduate applying for a role can therefore point to something concrete:

Here is my research. Here is how I explain it. Here is evidence that I can communicate complex ideas clearly.

That is considerably more informative than writing excellent verbal communication skills on a CV.

Communication matters beyond academia

The relevance also extends well beyond students intending to remain in universities.

NACE's findings concern entry-level employment generally, and the continued growth of skills-based recruitment means that employers are deliberately looking beyond degree subject and academic performance when assessing candidates.

This is potentially good news for postgraduate researchers.

A doctoral student investigating gravitational waves, cancer biology, medieval history or machine learning may apply for a career in which the precise subject of their thesis is not directly relevant.

What remains highly transferable is their ability to understand difficult material, identify the important information and explain it to somebody who is not an expert.

A short research presentation makes that ability visible.

Universities can help students create the evidence

There is an implication here for graduate schools and careers services as well.

If employers are moving towards evidence-based assessment of skills, universities should not only teach those skills. They should help students produce portable evidence that they possess them.

A presentation should therefore not necessarily be regarded as a transient classroom exercise or a competition entry that disappears once it has been assessed.

It can be a professional asset.

Universities already encourage students to build CVs, LinkedIn profiles and records of extracurricular activities. Short research communication should increasingly be considered part of that same employability infrastructure.

The question for graduates may soon be changing from:

“Do you have good communication skills?”

to:

“Can you show me?”

For thousands of postgraduate researchers who have already stood up and explained years of work in three minutes, the answer could be sitting in a video that already exists.

The challenge is making sure employers can find it.

Artificial intelligence is changing higher education at a remarkable pace.

In a recent opinion piece for Times Higher Education, Bruce Hood argued that as AI becomes increasingly capable of producing polished written work, universities must rethink how they develop and assess one of the most important graduate attributes: the ability to communicate knowledge effectively to other human beings.

For decades, universities have focused primarily on written communication. Essays, reports, dissertations and examinations have been the traditional ways students demonstrate understanding. But the emergence of generative AI raises an uncomfortable question: if a machine can help produce convincing written work, how can employers, educators and society distinguish between possessing knowledge and simply presenting it?

The answer may lie in a skill that has often been overlooked within higher education: spoken communication.

Communication Beyond Writing

The ability to explain complex ideas clearly has always mattered. Whether presenting research, pitching a business proposal, explaining technical concepts to clients, or leading a team, professional success often depends on communicating knowledge effectively.

Employers recognise this. Across multiple surveys, verbal communication consistently ranks among the most sought-after graduate attributes. Yet many students complete their degrees having received relatively little formal training in public speaking, audience engagement or persuasive communication.

This is particularly surprising given that communication is not simply the transmission of information. Effective speakers must think on their feet, respond to questions, establish credibility, build trust and adapt to their audience in real time. These are deeply human skills that AI cannot easily replicate.

Knowledge Is Not Enough

Good communication begins with understanding.

One concern is that AI may allow students to engage less deeply with the material they are studying. If students rely on AI to generate essays and reports, they may miss the intellectual struggle that often produces genuine comprehension.

But even deep knowledge is not sufficient on its own.

Many graduates possess considerable expertise but struggle to explain it to non-specialists. Anyone who has attended an academic conference knows that expertise and communication ability do not always go hand in hand.

Communication is a skill that requires practice, feedback and repetition. Like any complex ability, it improves through deliberate effort.

Why Three Minute Thesis Matters

This is one reason the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition has become such a global success.

Developed by the University of Queensland and now adopted by more than a thousand institutions worldwide, 3MT challenges doctoral researchers to explain years of work in just three minutes using language that a general audience can understand.

The challenge is deceptively difficult.

Researchers must identify the core message of their work, strip away unnecessary jargon, construct a compelling narrative and connect with an audience that may know nothing about their field.

In doing so, they develop precisely the communication skills that employers, policymakers, journalists and the public increasingly value.

The Problem of Visibility

Yet there is another challenge.

Every year, thousands of students participate in competitions, public engagement events, conference presentations and research showcases. These experiences develop valuable communication skills, but the evidence often disappears once the event concludes.

A presentation may be uploaded to YouTube, buried within a university playlist, and never seen again.

The achievement itself becomes difficult to discover, verify or showcase.

Why My-Thesis?

My-Thesis was created to address this problem.

The platform provides a searchable index of research presentations, enabling graduate researchers to make their talks more discoverable and giving audiences a way to find research by topic, institution, researcher or keyword.

But the platform is about more than research visibility.

At its core, My-Thesis recognises communication as an academic achievement in its own right.

A successful presentation demonstrates not only what a researcher knows but also their ability to explain, persuade and engage. These are increasingly important skills in a world where information is abundant but understanding remains scarce.

Looking Forward

Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly transforming education. Universities will continue to debate how best to assess knowledge and maintain academic integrity in an age of AI-assisted learning.

However, one consequence seems increasingly clear.

The graduates who thrive will not simply be those who possess knowledge. They will be those who can communicate it effectively, authentically and persuasively.

The ability to stand in front of an audience and explain an idea clearly may become one of the most valuable skills a graduate can possess.

And that is precisely why platforms such as My-Thesis matter more than ever.