What are the most important skills and abilities required ?
(Creativity, Emotional Distancing, Emotional Involvement, Language/Communication, Manual Dexterity, Leadership, Physical Ability, Persistence, Social Skills, Time Management, Logic/Reasoning, #marketing #personal-development
4 answers
Tasneem’s Answer
1. Communication
Communication skills, in general, are important for any professional. It includes written, verbal, and nonverbal communication. However, one particularly important communication skill in today’s world is email. Almost every profession requires some email correspondence. Professionals need to be able to craft clearly written, concise emails, using the appropriate format and tone for colleagues and employers alike.
Other communication skills include:
Advocating for yourself and your causes
Asking for help or advice
Brainstorming
Building buy-in to an idea
Business writing
Dealing with difficult people
Facilitating
Handling office politics
Handshaking
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Interviewing
Managing a positive relationship with an employer
Listening
Networking
Persuasion
Resume writing
Small talk
Verbal communication
Written communication
2. Public Speaking
Almost every job requires some public speaking. While you might not be giving long presentations regularly, you will likely need to speak up during meetings, provide information to your colleagues, and/or speak to a group in some small way. Professionals need to be capable of speaking to others clearly and presenting information effectively.
The following skills are important for anyone who has to present in public:
Articulation
Confidence
Creating presentation slides
Poise
Projection
Receiving criticism and feedback
Social skills
3. Teamwork
All professionals have to work in some sort of a group, whether they are working on team projects or trying to help a company achieve its mission. As a professional, you must possess the interpersonal skills required to get along with others.
You need to be able to share responsibility with others, communicate effectively, and achieve a common goal.
There are other teamwork skills professionals need:
Conflict management
Conflict resolution
Negotiation
Relationship building
Team building
Team management
4. Time Management
As a professional, you will be tasked with completing a variety of tasks. You’ll have to draw upon organizational skills to budget your time so that you complete each task by a given deadline without feeling overwhelmed.
Timeliness might seem simple, but it is one of the most important qualities in a professional.
Employees who show up on time (or, better yet, early), are often perceived to be more hardworking by their employers (even if this is not the case). You can therefore boost your professional reputation by showing up to work and meetings a few minutes early.
Attention to detail
Intrinsic motivation
Meeting deadlines
Project management
Punctuality
Self-starting
5. Leadership
Regardless of the role you play at an organization, leadership skills are important. Whether you're working on a team or in a management position, being able to lead is an essential skill for a professional.
Some of the skills that show your leadership abilities include:
Accountability
Budgeting
Calm under pressure
Coaching
Coordinating resources
Decision making
Goal setting
Growth mindset
Information gathering
Influence
Management
Mentoring
Meeting management
Planning
Politeness
Positivity
Prioritization
6. Flexibility
Most jobs require a degree of flexibility, and the ability to be willing to change. It's important to be able to understand different perspectives, and to adjust your workflow and contributions to the company as change arises.
Here are some of the skills that will enable you to show employers that you have the flexibility required for success on the job:
Able to change your mind
Adaptability
Analysis
Anger management
Patience
Perceptiveness
Problem solving
7. Personal Skills
Interpersonal skills are the soft skills that enable employees to work well with other workers, managers, clients, customers, vendors, and other people they interact within the workplace. These skills and professional attributes are also important for successful professional networking, and for managing your own career growth.
Career management
Career planning
Competency
Creative thinking
Critical thinking
Emotional intelligence
Enforcing boundaries (personal, professional)
Ethics
Honesty
Humility
Integrity
Patience
Perceptiveness
Perseverance
Persistence
Practicality
Resilience
Respect
Self-awareness
Self-confidence
Self-management
Self-promotion
Self-regulation
Stress management
Hard Skills
In addition to the professional skills that are needed in the workplace, there are job-specific skills and different types of skill that can help you get hired or promoted.
These hard skills include the knowledge and expertise required to do a job. Review some of the best skills to include on your resume, incorporate them into your job search materials, and mention them during job interviews.
Ronald W (Ronnie)’s Answer
Ronald W (Ronnie) recommends the following next steps:
Rachel Resnick
Rachel’s Answer
You will need to focus on stress and time management. In order to manage stress you have to manage your time wisely. <span style="background-color: transparent;">You have to set a routine for yourself and stick to it for the most part. Once you get into the groove of a routine it will be much easier for you to manage your time and have enough time for everything you need to do (including relaxing). Make yourself to-do lists on a weekly basis, use Google calendar or a planner to keep track of events, deadlines, and due dates. In addition to setting a routine and sticking to it, plan out relaxing activities into your day. Or set aside a time, after everything is done for the day, that you can have "me" time. I have also personally found it essential to not only find time for myself but also make use of that time in a way that is best for me and my holistic wellness. I have found the HeadSpace app to be an essential tool in helping me relax and generally feel more relaxed throughout the day, Guided meditation, even if you have a busy schedule, will make you feel more at ease and relaxed throughout the day as a whole (not just when you have the time to relax and focus on that "me" time).</span>
<span style="background-color: transparent;">Set a routine.Use Google Calendar.Set aside Me TimeWrite weekly to-do lists and use a planner.Find a peaceful and restful activity that will help you feel relaxed.</span>
Daniela Silva
Daniela’s Answer
Abbas,
We all need to be flexible in our working patterns and be prepared to change jobs and/or sectors if we believe there are better opportunities elsewhere.
In order to be flexible we need a set of 'transferable skills' – skills that are not specific to one particular career path but are generic across all employment sectors.
- Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are vital when seeking employment and may be the single most important factor for many recruiters.
Interpersonal skills are the skills we use to interact with other people. Good interpersonal skills allow you to participate effectively as a member of a team, satisfy customers and clients' expectations, negotiate, make decisions, manage your time efficiently, take responsibility, and work effectively with other employees. Well-honed interpersonal skills allow us to empathise and build rapport with colleagues and clients, leading to a better working environment which can be less stressful.
- Communication Skills
Employers look for people who communicate well both verbally and in writing.
If you are either applying for a job or looking for a promotion with your current employer, you will need to demonstrate good communication skills. The ability to communicate both verbally and in writing with a wide variety of people, maintain good eye contact, write clearly and succinctly, demonstrate a varied vocabulary and tailor your language to your audience are all essential skills that employers seek out. Good verbal and written communication means you can get your messages across with less chance of misunderstanding.
- Critical Thinking Skills
The ability to solve problems and make decisions can be a huge asset to your employer and these are therefore desirable skills to develop.
The ability to be able to effectively plan and organise means that you, or your team, are more likely to get the job done correctly the first time. These skills are beneficial to employers as they save time and money. Planning and organisation also require the recording of information (maybe in a report) which can be referred to when planning future projects.
Creative thinkers are innovative and inventive and are more likely to devise new ways of doing things that add value to the work environment, making systems and procedures more efficient. Creative thinkers can offer new perspectives about the job and the company.
- Personal Development
Personal development is all about having the right attitude towards work and the organisation you work for. Employers look for people who are keen to develop and learn.
Personal development is also concerned with how individuals evolve their working practices and attitudes to work. Self-motivation and confidence are key areas of personal development as is personal appearance and how others perceive you. Self-management skills, also known as ‘self-control’, are the skills we use to manage our personal feelings and how we react to challenges and problems both at work and in our private lives. Personal development includes learning to avoid potentially negative emotions such as anger and stress while developing assertiveness and effective negotiation skills.
- Presentation Skills
Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in the work place and presentation skills are required in almost every modern employment area.
Whether you are an administrator, manager or executive, you should expect to present your ideas and findings to your work colleagues and external stakeholders. Presenting information does not just include making formal presentations - information could be presented in the form of notes, reports, research findings, business plans, scenario planning, risk assessments and strategic documents. You may well be asked to give a presentation as part of your initial interview.
- Leadership
Leadership is the ability to influence others toward the achievement of a goal.
Leaders either have, or are perceived to have, strong self-confidence. Leaders are team players, allowing them to work in a group to achieve the best results for their employer. Leaders show social skills by respecting the thoughts, opinions and ideas of others - they gain the respect of others and aim for credibility.
- IT Skills
Most people need some IT skills to find work today. Acquiring basic IT skills and being familiar with using a computer may open up a wide range of employment opportunities and increase your marketability in the workplace.
It is likely that a modern job will require you to be familiar with at least some computer applications. Computer literacy means understanding what computers can and cannot do. Even if you know that you will not be using a computer in your job, it is well worth your while learning some of the basics of information technology, for example how to send and receive emails, use the internet effectively, and use word processor and spreadsheet software.
Find more at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/employability-skills.html#ixzz4Kj11RT8o
Best!