This study highlights the priorities of accounting students’ employability skills in enhancing their employability opportunities by analyzing self-reported skills through their curriculum vitae (CVs). This study also examines whether pre-graduation work experience and participation in training courses contribute to the development of these employability skills. Employability skills examined included both soft and hard skills. Accounting students were asked to self-identify their acquired skills (i.e., self-reporting) by listing them in their CVs. The results showed that accounting students prioritized 17 skills deemed essential for employability, with the highest-ranked being computer use, Microsoft Office proficiency, communication skills, English language proficiency, and the ability to work under pressure. The findings also revealed that the pre-graduation work experience and participation in training courses had varying influences on the development of employability skills. There were no statistically significant differences in the importance of either skill group (hard or soft) between students with pre-graduation work experience and those without. However, a significant difference was found between students who had taken training courses and those who had not. Additionally, the results of additional analysis confirmed that factors beyond work experience and training courses—such as activities embedded within academic courses—likely influence employability skills development. This study contributes to the growing debates on students’ perspectives on the priority of employability skills for career success. It also offers the potential practical implications for higher education institutions (HEIs), suggesting that they can better support students by fostering the development of employability skills through curricular and extracurricular activities, including pre-graduation work experience and training course participation. The role of curricular and extracurricular activities during students’ education is likely to form a significant frame of reference through which they understand the connection between their experience in HEIs and their future prospects in the labor market. © The Author(s) 2025.
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