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What Employers Look For: Hard and Soft Skills
- 1. WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR 1. First and foremost, can you do the job? 2. Are you going to be reasonably easy to work with? 3. Will you be satisfied with the job or will you be looking to leave within six months? 4. Are you reasonably likeable? 5. Do you seem like you can put up with whatever the negatives of the job are? 6. Will you fit in with the company culture? 7. Do you have a strong work ethic? 8. How enthusiastic are you about the job?
- 2. CAN YOU DO THE JOB? HARD SKILLS • Technical or Academically oriented • Easy to define • Measurable by tests • Directly taught in schools EXAMPLES • Associate of Science degree • Able to type 50 wpm • Certified welder • CDL license holder • High school graduate • 10 years of clerical experience
- 3. EVERYTHING ELSE… • SOFT SKILLS… • The ability to communicate and interact positively and productively with others • Develop as we age • Not directly taught in school • Relates to our attitude and outlook on life • Difficult to explain, but we easily recognize them
- 4. EXAMPLES OF SOFT SKILLS • Good Listener • Effective communication skills • Dependable • Neat • Friendly • Organized • Prompt • Fair • Hard worker
- 5. TOP 6 SOFT SKILLS • Communication • Enthusiasm & Attitude • Teamwork • Networking • Problem Solving & Critical Thinking • Professionalism
- 6. SOFT SKILL #1: COMMUNICATION • Verbal • Interpersonal • Public speaking • Telephone etiquette • Listening comprehension • Non-verbal • Facial expressions • Body language • Posture • Written • Email • Text messages • Letters/Reports • Visual • Dress • Personal hygiene
- 7. SOFT SKILL #2: ENTHUSIASM & ATTITUDE • All other things being equal, a candidate who can demonstrate a positive attitude and eagerness to tackle the job will have an advantage over one who displays an attitude viewed by the employer as negative or disinterested. In fact, many employers would rather provide job skills training to an enthusiastic but inexperienced worker than hire someone with perfect qualifications but a less-than-positive attitude.
- 8. DISPLAYING ENTHUSIASM AND POSITIVE ATTITUDE
- 9. IN A JOB INTERVIEW • Smile • Sit up straight • Make eye contact… but don’t stare, it’s disturbing • Discuss training and work experiences in an upbeat manner
- 10. SOFT SKILL #3: TEAMWORK • Teamwork involves building relationships and working with other people using a number of important skills and habits: • Working cooperatively • Contributing to groups with ideas, suggestions, and effort • Communication (both giving and receiving) • Sense of responsibility • Healthy respect for different opinions, customs, and individual preferences • Ability to participate in group decision-making
- 11. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” SOFT SKILL #4: NETWORKING 80% of available jobs are not advertised.
- 12. EVERYONE HAS A NETWORK • WHAT/WHEN/WHERE: Networking occurs every time you participate in a school or social event, volunteer in the community, visit with members of your religious group, talk with neighbors, strike up a conversation with someone at the store, or connect with friends online. • WHY: To get those 80% of opportunities that are never posted online. • WHO: People with whom you interact regularly. • Family/Friends, Parents' Friends/ Friend’s Parents, Friends of Friends, Neighbors, Teachers, Church Members • HOW: When networking for the purpose of career development, this means talking with friends, family members, and acquaintances about your goals, your interests, and your dreams.
- 13. SOFT SKILL #5: PROBLEM SOLVING & CRITICAL THINKING • There is no shortage of challenges and issues that can arise on the job. • Whether these problems are large or small, they need to be dealt with constructively and fairly. • Having the necessary skills to identify solutions to problems is one of the skills that employers look for in employees.
- 14. SIMPLE PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS 1. Identify and Select the Problem 2. Analyze the Problem 3. Generate Potential Solutions 4. Select and Plan the Solution 5. Implement the Solution 6. Evaluate the Solution SCIENTIFIC METHOD 1. Ask a Question 2. Do Background Research 3. Construct a Hypothesis 4. Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment 5. Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion 6. Communicate Your Results
Editor's Notes
- 1. First and foremost, can you do the job? This isn't about whether you think you can do the job; employers are looking for concrete evidence in your past that shows that you can. This doesn't mean that you need to have done this particular job with this particular title before, but it does mean that you need to have a track record of success in the skills that the position requires.2. Are you going to be reasonably easy to work with? No matter how skilled you are, most employers don't want to hire someone who's high maintenance, rude, negative, volatile, or overly sensitive.3. Will you be satisfied with the job or will you be looking to leave within six months? Most employers want to hire people who will stick around for a solid block of time (usually at least two years, and more for senior-level positions). They also want to hire people who will be happy with the job, because unhappy people tend to be less productive and a drain on other employees' morale.4. Are you reasonably likeable? You don't need to be a charmer on the level of George Clooney, but you do need to be someone your interviewer can envision working with every day without feeling stomach pains.5. Do you seem like you can put up with whatever the negatives of the job are? Every job has downsides, whether it's a difficult boss or a long commute or an office culture that makes it hard for new ideas to blossom. Employers want to make sure that you're going to have at least a reasonable "immunity" level to whatever the more difficult elements of the job will be.6. Will you fit in with the company culture? Do you seem like you'd easily embrace the culture, or do you seem like you'd struggle to assimilate? Company culture matters because it's the invisible force that controls "how we do things here."7. Do you have a strong work ethic? It's not enough to just show up at work every day and do the minimum required. Employers are looking for candidates who care about getting things done and who don't start distracting the receptionist or open up Facebook or Gmail the moment the boss leaves for lunch.8. How enthusiastic are you about the job? Is this just one job of hundreds you're applying to, or do you have a special interest in this one? Employers would rather hire someone who will be excited to come to work than someone who sees it as "just a job."