Skills Employers Look For

 

central comm, answering service, virtual receptionists, hiring people with people skillsWhen someone asks me how I know a particular candidate will be a good fit for Central Comm, it’s sometimes difficult to answer. There are a list of skills and technical abilities we look for. They have to be computer literate, have a pleasant speaking voice, be willing to learn new skills. But it’s way more than that. We need people who are able to follow our guidelines, but when it’s critical, to take initiative in solving problems. Those skills are hard to find all in one person. That’s why we interview many more people than we actually hire.

Business News Daily just did a post about the type of skills most employers are looking for. They compiled a list of 58 soft skills, those skills which are not simply the technical know how, rather they are “personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.”

“To help job seekers, LinkedIn analyzed the soft skills listed on the profiles of members who changed their employer on their LinkedIn profile between June 2014 and June 2015 in order to identify the most sought-after soft skills. [See Related Story: Soft Skills Matter: Can They Be Taught?]

The research found that the soft skills most in-demand are:

  1. Good communicator
  2. Well organized
  3. Team player
  4. Always punctual
  5. Critical thinker
  6. Social
  7. Creative thinker
  8. Interpersonal communicator
  9. Easily adapts
  10. Friendly personality

The list of in-demand soft skills was derived from a total of 58 skills. Since the researchers didn’t group similar skills into one category, there are some listed as distinct skills, when their meanings could be interpreted to be similar. For example, both “interpersonal communication” and “communication” are included as distinct soft skills when there’s an obvious semantic overlap between the two.”

The article quantified that in some careers these skills are valued less or more than others. Companies where creativity, such as graphic design and architecture, weren’t as concerned with these soft skills as were companies where interacting with the public was a bigger part of the job.

Can soft skills be developed, or are you just born with them? We think that people can work on those skills, and develop them, but all people should try to aim for jobs that bring out their strengths. That’s where they are likely to thrive.

 

Central Comm

 

– See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7860-skills-employers-want.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=socialfbbnd&cmpid=social_bnd_514624#sthash.BqmGWWAx.dpuf