Leadership qualities have been reported as needed attributes of new hires in the agriculture and natural resources sector. A skills gap exists between graduates' abilities and desires of hiring professionals particularly dealing with conflict, building professional relationships, listening effectively, and asking good questions among others. Our study surveyed hiring managers at a college of agriculture career fair. Recruiters performed a Q-sort of 38 leadership competencies from most needed to least needed in the roles they are hiring for. Three distinct groups of recruiters emerged: one focused on hiring in production roles, one focused on professional schools and advanced degrees, and one looking for people-focused roles. The group interested in production roles included eight employers and was looking for the competencies of optimizes work processes and resourcefulness. This group had a negative statistical significance to manage conflict, persuade, attract top talent, communicate effectively, and interpersonal savvy. The second group composed of individuals recruiting for professional schools and one other organization prioritized drives vision and purpose, instills trust, tech savvy, and attracts top talent. This group was negatively associated with organizational savvy, develops talent, self-development, plans and aligns, and nimble learning. The final group of three organizations was looking for jobs and internships focused on people. This group positively ranked action-oriented, persuades, and builds networks. They negatively ranked drives results, tech savvy, situational adaptability, instills trust, and builds effective teams. Overall, all three groups ranked being resilient as one of the top priorities for new hires. This study can guide faculty who teach courses focused on professional skills and individuals focused on career readiness of students from colleges of agriculture across the nation.