When you are being interviewed for a job, you are aware that you have to convince the prospective employer regarding your skills, background as well as your experience in the industry matching with those of the position for which you are being interviewed. However, there is a crucial piece in that puzzle which you cannot afford to overlook. “Do you have the right personality for the job?”
Majority of the people seeking jobs have the desire that they could somehow get to know the secret formula that can be used to win the hearts as well as the minds of the employers.They wonder as to what can be unique combination of values and skills that will create an impression on the employers. All the employers are on the lookout for a particular set of skills that they expect the job-seekers to possess in order to perform a specific job. However, apart from the technical skills that are particular to a specific job, most of the employers seek certain skills that are universal for all types of jobs.
These skills are possessed by most of the people applying for the jobs to a certain extent and those who are weak in these areas can undergo mentoring, coaching, professional development and training to overcome the weaknesses. Once these characteristics and skills that are sought by most of the employers from the persons applying for the jobs are recognised, they can be used by you to tailor your communication related to the job search.The critical employ ability skills also known as the “soft skills” have been identified by several studies.
The qualities that the employers want from the job candidates are discussed below.
#1 – Communication Skills
The one skill that is required by every employer is the ability of the job-seeker to speak, write and listen in an effective way. Successful communication is a crucial aspect of any job. The person needs to be a good listener as well as a good communicator who has the capacity to effectively convey the information in writing and also verbally, irrespective of the industry for which he or she is working. The job-seeker should have the ability to establish effective communication with the customers, managers and employees either in person or online or on the phone and / or in writing.
#2 –Analytical / Research Skills
These skills are concerned primarily with the ability of the person to carry out an assessment of the situation, look for a number of perspectives, wherever necessary collect information and identify the main issues which have to be addressed. The job-seeker should possess high level of analytical thinking and also demonstrate a talent for the identification, scrutiny, improvement and streamlining of the work processes that are complex in nature. They need to have the ability of figuring out the things. However, the skills that are needed and the levels of skills which are needed are dependent on the job as well as the industry and vary according to them. Apart from the ability to analyse, the persons applying for the jobs should also be able to prioritise, plan and organise in an effective way.
#3 – Computer / Technical Literacy Skills
Majority of the jobs now-a-days require the candidates to possess some basic understanding with respect to the software and hardware of the computer, particularly email, spreadsheets and word processing. The applicant needs to be a performer who is computer literate with software proficiency that is extensive and covers a large number of applications. The advanced technical skills however differ from job to job.
#4 –Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are also called “people skills”. These are the skills which are used for interacting as well as engaging with people. The ability of the candidate to relate to his or her co-workers, motivate others to participate along with problem solving and mitigating conflict with the colleagues is necessary in view of the amount of time that people spend in the office every day. Thus, the applicant needs to be a proven relationship-builder possessing interpersonal skills that are unsurpassed.
#5 –Managing Multiple Priorities / Adaptability / Flexibility
The candidate applying for employment need to have the ability to manage a number of tasks and assignments, adapt to the change in the conditions at work, set priorities and work on different assignments. This means that the job-seeker has to be a team player who is flexible and who has the capacity to thrive in the environments that require the capability to prioritise as well as juggle a number of concurrent projects in an effective manner. Multitasking or the ability of working on many tasks in a calm manner is considered to be vital for success.
#6 – Leadership Skills
The willingness along with the desire of accepting responsibility to achieve outcomes is leadership. It is concerned with the ability of taking charge, volunteering for assignments as well as accepting accountability so that the results that are required from those assignments can be achieved. The main sign of a leader is that such a person does not give any excuses. The willingness of a person to be a leader is demonstrated in the company is demonstrated by his offer to taking charge so as to achieve the goals of the company followed by his or her commitment to give the highest level of performance.
Employers generally like to recruit job-seekers who will be able to work for a long time in their organisations. Majority of the facets of leadership can be learned and therefore, several efficient employers have the desire to mould thinkers who are progressive instead of having employees who are stagnant. The employees want every individual to have the scope for progress so that over a period of time they will be in a position of formulating their own winning teams.
#7 –Positive Attitude / Resilience / Motivation / Passion / Energy
Attitude is very valuable even though it may not be everything. Employers usually look for employees who are positive and remain positive even in circumstances that are challenging as well as stressful. They wish to hire those applicants who have are flexible and have a “can do” attitude, who are dedicated and willing to make extra contributions for getting the job done. The most sought after candidates by the managers who hire people in an organisation are the hiring managers. They are the people who look at their problems in a positive way and do not see the hurdles are something that is insurmountable, pervasive or caused as a result of their own fault. These candidates might fail but after a short period of demoralisation, they get back on their feet and continue their work and keep producing for the organisation. Mostly the job-seekers who are hired are the ones who possess passion and drive and also demonstrate this enthusiasm by means of their actions and words. Candidates who are energetic performers show an unbridled passion with respect to their work, are upbeat and have a sunny disposition along with a positive attitude.
#8 – Team Oriented
While recruiting candidates, it is very essential that you hire people who “buy into the system”. Such type of people can work in an effective manner in circumstances where the cooperation of others is needed. These people are able to fit in a clear way within the confines of the corporate culture of the organisation and have the capability of bringing a dynamic factor to the meetings which welcome debates and finally result in providing solutions to the problems. Hence, irrespective of the jobs, employers generally look for hiring those candidates who are team players, who can work well with other people and are cooperative. Employers do not prefer employees whom they find difficulty in working with.
#9 –Creativity / Reasoning / Problem Solving
This characteristic is concerned mainly with the ability to look for solutions to the issues and problems that exist by the use of innovation, creativity, past experiences and reasoning with the help of the resources and the information that are available. A candidate who is an innovative problem solver will be able to resolve complaints and generate solutions that are workable. Most of the successful organisations flourish due to innovation along with improvement that takes place consistently in their present internal processes. They constantly are on the lookout for candidates who can work in an autonomous way and can also formulate new ways of completing tasks that are old.
#10 –Self Confidence
If a candidate does not believe in himself or herself even after having a unique mix of abilities, education and skills, it is difficult for a prospective employer to believe in him. The candidate applying for the job has to be confident about himself or herself and about the benefits that he or she can offer to their employers. Thus, the candidate needs be hard-working and confident and who shows a commitment to achieve excellence.
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#11 – Intelligence
Several studies have indicated that almost 76% of the contribution as well as the productivity of the employees is determined by the intelligence level of the employee. Intelligence signifies the ability of the candidate to planning, organising, setting priorities, solving problems and getting the work done. Intelligence is the level of common sense that a person possesses and his or her practical ability of dealing with the daily challenges related to the job.
#12 –Competence
Competence is extremely essential for success ad lays the foundation of everything that is related to your career. It is related to the ability of the person to get the work done. It is also the person’s ability of setting priorities and separating the tasks that are relevant from the ones that are irrelevant and then put in single minded concentration till the work is completed. In today’s age the managers are usually overworked and have very little time for overseeing the daily activities of the job. It is thus essential to recruit persons who people who have the ability to get the work done and do not require any micromanagement for that purpose. Job seekers who are competent will be able to attain a return on investment for the employers for whom they work and they will need only minimal handholding from the leadership of the organisation.
#13 – Decisive
Hiring managers usually like to hire the employees who have the ability to take decisions that are tough. They are those persons who have the capacity to analyse the available options, their potential outcomes along with the pitfalls that might be encountered in those circumstances in a quick as well as efficient way and on the basis of that take a firm call. They should not be afraid of taking risks and have the capability to perform under situations that are stressful.
When the companies carry out an assessment of the job candidates that they are in search of, they usually look for someone who not just has the proficiency in a specific function but also has the personality which is suitable for the job. Therefore, it becomes vital on your part to highlight your soft skills as well as qualities like the ones mentioned above so as to give your prospective employers an idea about yourself and your ability to quickly adapt to changing situations and solving problems along with your ability to motivate and lead others in the organisation so as to achieve the goals of the organisation.
In conjunction with these qualities and those mentioned earlier, vision, knowledge, loyalty, competitiveness, integrity, persuasiveness and trustworthiness are the additional qualities that the hiring managers look for in a candidate who is seeking job in their organisation. Even though the employers as well as the HR personnel and recruiters do not require a person to have 100% of all the traits present in the job-seekers while carrying out the staffing function, the closer you are to the perfect score, the higher will be your chances of receiving an offer for the job.
