Companies are always in a never-ending search for employees who have the most sought-after skills. By far, soft skills are the top skills in demand as far as employers are concerned. Soft skills are a combination of personality traits, behaviors and social attitudes that allow people to communicate effectively, collaborate and successfully manage conflict. These are intangible but extremely important qualities that allow a person to work and interact with the people around them. People with good soft skills have excellent situational awareness which allows them to handle difficult situations effectively.
Along with soft skills, there are various other important skills in demand that is needed to be successful. Like critical thinking, adaptability, initiative and drive. Critical thinking is self directed and self disciplined, which allows a person to think for themselves in a realistic and meaningful way. Employees of today will need to be able to adapt quickly with the ever-changing world of work otherwise they will be left behind. Having initiative and drive will be very important in today’s world where there is competition on the edge.
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Following are the skills needed to be successful at work:
Communication skills: Along with verbal and non-verbal communication, which is very important, another type of communication skill that employers are very fond of and which is hugely important to be successful at work is active listening. Active listening allows you to actually hear and understand what the other person is trying to tell you. Active listening helps build trust with the other person, which in turn leads to a free flow of communication.
Leadership skills: Companies want employees who have leadership skills, who can direct and supervise other employees and who have the quality to inspire other employees into action or reflection. When something goes wrong, employees with leadership quality take full responsibility and accountability for their role in it and look for the positives in the whole situation and learn from the mistakes.
Creative problem solving: Creative problem solving skill is one of the top skills in demand by employers. It means solving problems with limited resources. Chefs are a great example of solving problems with limited resources. For example, if a chef has to make a dish with 10 ingredients and he only has seven ingredients, he won’t abandon the dish and disappoint his customers. He will get creative with the seven ingredients and may find substitutes for the three missing ingredients or maybe even put an innovative spin on the dish. That’s what employers want because you do not always have all the things you need to perform a particular task.
Teamwork: Collaboration in teams is one of the most important aspects of working in an organization. Teams work together to achieve predetermined goals and objectives. Employers want employees who can collaborate well in teams as most of the employees in an organization have to work in teams. Even those who do not work in teams have to collaborate with others to get the job done.
Emotional intelligence: Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions in positive ways. It is considered to be just as important as IQ to succeed at work and even in life. Emotional intelligence includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, etc. understanding your own emotions and having empathy with people around you goes a long way in building a successful life and career.
Having good skills can make a huge difference throughout your career. It can be the difference between getting selected or not in your job interview, advancing a project or having it rejected, getting a promotion or having to make do with a lateral move. The right skills can make all the difference.
References:
- 5 Skills You Need to Work on to Get Ahead – No Matter What Industry You’re In | themuse | Antonio Neves
- The 7 Soft Skills You Need to Be Successful | OMNIA | Keather Snyder | March 23, 2020
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