Looking for a job can become a daunting task. Luckily, with technology today the process of looking for a job is much easier and a lot more efficient. Growing up when it was time for me to get a job it was a door-to-door process. It consisted of having to drive from one place, to another, dropping off resumes, and trying to get a quick minute from the managers to introduce myself. Although we don’t need to do this too much today, we still need to put forth the effort and time to find a job.
I can tell you from having years of experience in management, what is going to help people find a good job is not going to be the seeking of the job itself, although, that is important. What is going to make the biggest impact are the skills that you have cultivated over time that are going to be most valuable to an organization and a team.
What do those skills look like?
Here are 7 Top Valuable Skills That Will Always Be In High Demand:
1. Teamwork
Mastering the skill of working well within a team is a highly valuable skill. When you take a moment to zoom out in the grand scheme of things, you can see that regardless of your field, 9 out of 10 times you will be working with a team. The efficacy of that team is highly dependent on the actual team members and how well they can handle working together.
The people that succeed in the work force are the people who understand the process and skillset of working well with others. This skill is so powerful that if you master it properly, you can implement it into other areas of your life such as: your home and your relationships.
2. Communication
From my management experience, I have seen the power of communication shine through consistently. I have picked up on the way organizations communicate within their community, the way employees communicate with one another, and the way that employees communicate with its respected customer base. One consistent behavior that is commonly found when problems and issues arise, is a lack of proper communication.
If you find yourself being a poor communicator, then this is a skill that I highly advise you work on and build upon. Not just because of the benefits that it will provide you in your career, but the advantages that it will bring you in your personal life.
As people, we are designed to communicate with our words, our body language, and our actions. We desire communication with others and we enjoy building genuine relationships. A lot of those relationships that we build are commonly from the workplace or school. Learning how to foster relationships through proper and effective communication is going to give you great peace within your work-life.
3. Problem Solving
We are constantly in problem solving mode. I just don’t think people give themselves enough credit, or they are so wrapped up in their lives that they fail to slow down and look at the problem solving skills that they use on a daily basis. If you haven’t paid much attention to this specific area of your life, you should.
Life comes with so many problems, they can be good problems or bad problems, but we are constantly trying to figure out ways around barriers, obstacles, and problems. When it comes to work, it is almost like the reason we are hired in the first place, is to take care of problems. As an employee, in general, your job is to produce results and amongst those results are problems that need to be solved, by you.
In order to be a good problem solver, you have to maintain a certain level of awareness. Almost to a point where you are seeing the problems before they even become problems. This requires a high level of focus and awareness. This is why I believe people need to choose wisely, when they are searching for a job. This level of awareness and focus usually only stems from working jobs you love.
A great way to become a problem solver at your work, is to look for problems with intention, and then write down the possible solutions. Kind of like a multiple choice format. This will give you a different perspective, while also giving your brain a better way to find good solutions. Once you find those solutions, you execute on your plan.
4. Organization
Organization is an excellent skill to have in your tool box, but the only way to get it is to practice it daily. When it comes to organization, it must be practiced and transferred into every area of your life to really see results. This means, your car, your home, your office space, your work space, and then everything in between.
In your work-life, being organized is going to help you to complete tasks with more efficiency. The more efficiency you create, the more time you have to zero in on details. What ends up happening, is you get a higher quality final product.
When employers are seeking new employees, there are a list of key skills that really stand out, and organization is one of them. Supervisors are looking for people who can do their job well, and keep things organized in the process.
5. Leadership
Leadership is something that we need more of in this world as a whole. From my management experience, we have so many “managers” but such few leaders within those management roles.
Leadership is all about caring for others and helping other people around you become better. The only way to achieve this level of influence, is to practice what you preach. If you truly want to better your leadership skills, I would suggest to start with educating yourself on what true leadership means.
If you can demonstrate leadership in the work place, then you are well ahead of the game. In fact, if you can truly demonstrate leadership, you are well on your way to get promotions and move up the ladder. That is how important leadership in the workplace is. It is so rare, that when someone see’s it, they immediately value it.
A great way to practice being a leader or developing yourself into a leader is to master the skills of what it means to be a leader within your own personal life first. Hold yourself accountable for your results, and make the day-to-day improvements that are necessary for you to lead by example.
6. Ability To Work Under Pressure
Working for Amazon, the senior managers do a behavioral analysis on their employees as they work. Then they reveal that person’s “super-power” to them, and help them to develop that skill even further.
One that stood out to me, was the ability to work under pressure. A lot of people are not built to perform under pressure, that is understandable. This is why I believe that it is an important skill to master.
How do you get better at working under pressure?
Work under pressure.
How do you do this?
Look for the pressure within your day-to-day operations and then add it. Simple as that.
Every job can be done faster, better, and more efficient. Your job should be to find those barriers and break them. Seriously. It is about challenging yourself and putting yourself into uncomfortable situations that are going to make all the difference within your work and within your life.
The best part about this is that you don’t need to involve anybody into this except yourself. You can do all of this, simply by applying yourself and adding the workload. Which leads perfectly into the last one…
7. Strong Work Ethic
I have been blessed to have some of the hardest working people within my immediate circle. These special people have shown me what hard work and true work ethic really means, and they didn’t teach me with their words, they taught me by their actions—which is way better if you didn’t know.
Going into management roles and trainings, I saw firsthand that work ethic was the single separator from people who made it in the workforce, and those who didn’t. What separated those people was their work ethic. Having a strong ethic will take you far in this world.
From my experience, work ethic always reverts back to the same question: “how bad do you want it?”
I have found that when people want something bad enough, they do whatever it takes.
It’s not about “can I do it?”
It’s more like —”do I want to do it?”
And the separator between a true hard work ethic, is getting the work done regardless of how you feel about it.
