Top Five Sure-Fire Skills Employers Want
The Best Qualities That Will Help Get Job Seekers Hired
Jul 13, 2009
It’s a constant cry. Employers want job seekers who exhibit certain qualities and skill sets. And employees want to know what types of qualities and skills most employers screen for.
Naturally there are some common terms such as communication and teamwork skills used to describe the talents of ideal candidates. However, these everyday words lack the substance that most employers really seek in their employees.
Instead here are five skills which go farther in capturing the essence of the best qualities that will help job seekers get hired.
Mold Good Interpersonal Skills Into Solid Relationship Building Skills
It’s not unusual to read a job posting and see one of the skills requested as interpersonal skills. It’s a good skill. But the truth is employers really want more. They want relationship building skills.
Relationship building goes beyond generic interpersonal skills, which basically means that employees are friendly, likable and cooperative. Sure, that’s part of it. But just because someone is nice, doesn’t mean they are memorable. Nice is how people describe an ugly date.
Relationship building involves teamwork, cooperation, negotiate, and the ability to win people over. It’s not just about getting along, it’s about being engaged, being open and available, being able to develop rapport and being able to retain the quality relationships they build.
Take the Time to Nurture Credibility
When someone is credible it’s because others have seen them in action, seen the results and believe in their ability to get things done. Credibility elicits confidence from others because it involves integrity and transparency and makes others take notice.
Credibility results from being the type of person co-workers know they can trust; someone who is dependable and will do what they say and say what they’ll do. Credible people are ethical, trustworthy, and reliable.
Learn From Others and Develop an Expertise
Employers want employees who have a knowledge base that will help the company be successful. This means job seekers need to become knowledgeable and be an authority and an expert with regard to some area or specialty within the work environment.
The best way for job seekers to do this is to find an area of high interest or passion that motivates them to continually learn and communicate their knowledge effectively.
Expertise provides employees with a strong base of power in an organization because others seek out experts.
Fine-Tune Presentation Skills
Every employer seeks out employees with excellent communication skills. However, what they usually fail to explain is exactly what they mean by that description. Do they want people with perfect enunciation? Is it all about excellent spelling and grammar?
Well, what most employers really want (and what job seekers should cultivate) is not just someone who can speak in coherent sentences, but individuals who can succinctly articulate information and engage others in both verbal and written form as well as present themselves in a professional and polished manner. What that really translates into is superior presentation skills.
Be Sure to Polish Project Management Abilities
Job seekers who think it is enough to be well-organized need to think again. Even though organization skills are one of those talents that many employers request, it really goes much further than that.
Having project management skills doesn’t just mean that a job seeker is able to lead a major company project from start to finish. It can also mean that they are capable of handling everyday, routine projects that need to be completed. Managing projects of any size is merely the ability to be so well-organized that they can coordinate resources – time, people and materials – to ensure work gets done.
Whatever skills employers include in their job postings, job seekers need to consider carefully what talents they have to offer and how they can make sure to have the skills that employers want.
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