After Covid-19, employees need a few special skills to remain relevant in their job. Here are 7 skills you should have as a professional now.
You may be a computer whiz, a scientific genius, a superlative engineer, or a Master of Mathematical Theories. To be successful, you need more than just expertise in your technical domain. According to a survey done with campus recruiters when participating employers were asked to name the attributes they seek in candidates; they gave their highest scores to the following three:
Written Communication Skills (82%)
Problem Solving Skills (80.9%)
Ability to Work in a Team (78.7%)
The most important skills an applicant can possess in today’s high-tech job market, ranked quite low in comparison. The results clarify that employers are paying much closer attention to soft skills in the workplace than they did earlier.
Unfortunately, many students/ individuals immediately zero in on niche skill sets that are only useful for their specific area of expertise--for example, a coder might learn techniques for dozens of programming languages.
This is good, as it makes you a better fit for those specific positions, but there are some general skills that are far more important than the technical skills. These are important for growth personally and professionally.
Here are 7 skills every professional needs now:
1. Confidence
Phenomenally successful people have little self-doubt. Rather, they are more likely to possess strong self-belief. If you have confidence, you believe that you have what it takes to be successful. Your certainty in your ability helps you persist in the face of ambiguity and failure and remain confident when meeting challenges as you pursue success.
2. Critical thinking
Critical thinking is a process of problem-solving that allows you to find and address potential weaknesses in a given environment. It allows for out-of-the-box solutions for problems and pattern recognition existing in the system. Critical thinkers are capable of acknowledging, analyzing, and solving problems without much--if any--outside influence, and they're always looking for improvements in system to make it simpler, smoother and quicker.
3. Delegation
High on delegation individuals quickly adjust to accommodate the changing needs and new realities of growth and success. When mastered the art of delegation, frees up your time on activities that yield the highest returns for you and the organization.
4. Effective communication
No matter who you are, where you work, or what line of work you're in, communication will be a critical factor in your ultimate success. It might involve giving information to a client, telling your needs to a supervisor, or collaborating with your peers. It might be phone-based, written, or face-to-face.
5. Emotional intelligence
EI is a skill that supports individuals to guide the interactions with stakeholders that helps their interactions glide effortlessly. EI used effectively makes people start taking actions, gets people to the point of action swiftly, without lingering doubts or questions. People with strong emotional intelligence know how to get the best results from others, and also how to ensure the experience is positive and builds momentum.
6. Negotiation skills
As a skill, it comes from equal parts persuasion, influencing and confidence. It's a useful tool to have in almost any position and having it during the job interview process can guarantee you get the best position possible. If you negotiate well, you could receive a higher salary. In the job, you can use negotiation skills for getting last-minute help, decreasing possible points of resistance, and lowering total costs of operation.
7. Relationship-building
This includes networking. As fondly used your network decides your Net worth. Successful people have strong interpersonal skills that allow them to build a strong, robust and diversified network. The same network gets used to gain information, share experiences, exchange ideas, pool expertise, draw mutual support and help sustain motivation, thus increasing the likelihood of your survival and success.
ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON INDIA TODAY