Top 11 Employability Skills That Will Get You A Job

Employers around the globe are searching for employees who don’t just fulfil the criteria for educational qualifications but also possess employable skills that benefit an organisation. The skills required in your field depends on the career path you choose, and they could be very specific. However, there are a few skills that are necessary for almost every job.

Including these in your cover letter and CV can increase your chances of landing your ideal job. In addition, these skills will be useful in your workplace and even in your personal life because each of them helps you grow as a person. 

Top Employability Skills That Will Get You A Job

1. Technology Skills

Technology has become inseparable from our lives, so employers expect you to have industry-relevant technical skills. For instance, Excel and G-suite know-how is a requirement for many non-technical roles as well. If you invest your time in learning the right technical skills, you will attract well-paying job roles. Furthermore, updating your technical skills stack will help you stay relevant in the future. 

2. Problem Solving

There are 62% of employers who think that problem-solving is an essential skill for getting hired. Organisations face a new challenge every day, and it is impossible for just one person to deal with all the obstacles. They need competent candidates who can brainstorm to find actionable solutions to business challenges. 

Problem-solving includes analysing facts and data and also creating and implementing solutions. Great problem solvers are efficient at recognising and defining the challenges, devising a plan, and executing it flawlessly. 

3. Adaptability

The only thing constant in today’s world is change. This fact also applies to the business world, where everything keeps changing, and one needs to quickly adapt to the evolving scenario. Along with the changing industrial scene, companies often go through internal changes as well. Thus, professionals must identify the most relevant skills in the industry/company and must learn how to adapt to remain at the top of their game. 

Adaptability is not just accepting and following the change. It is also learning and improving. One must learn from their previous mistake and reinvent themselves to come back even stronger. If you can do that, you have something that most employers desire!

4. Communication Skills

Communication skills help you find success in your professional and personal life. Communicating is essential because what use will be your idea if you cannot convey it to people? That’s such a waste! One who can articulate their ideas clearly to all the stakeholders involved is a true asset to any company. 

As a good communicator, you must know how to listen, empathise, make logical conclusions, speak accordingly to your audience, and build rapport. Excellent communication skills benefit the company because it promises clear interaction with no room for doubts or confusion. 

5. Team Spirit & Collaboration

Interacting and collaborating with your colleagues is a must in any work setting, whether in the office or a work-from-home location. The power of a great team lies in the strength and collaborative levels of every member. A good team can accomplish a lot more than an individual employee. This is why organisations look for candidates with team spirit and a collaborative mindset. Collaboration skills become crucial if your dream job requires a lot of day-to-day interaction with other colleagues. 

6. Organisation Skills

When you are organised, you can focus on a given task without thinking about ten different things simultaneously. Planning your schedule according to your priorities will make you feel motivated and productive. As an organised individual, you are more likely to effectively use the company’s resources, your mental capacity, and physical space. These traits help groom you into a highly employable person, someone the recruiters cannot neglect. 

7. Time Management

Time is money. If you cannot handle your time efficiently, you are putting a lot at stake. A person who manages their time well can lead a balanced life without compromising their personal or professional life. This allows them to strike a work-life balance.

Employers see time management as an extension of another skill set known as resource management, where time and effort are essential. Someone who is good at time management knows how to make optimal use of available resources, form actionable schedules, and reach milestones. 

8. Upskilling

Learning and upskilling is a never-ending learning process. In a fast-changing industry, learning new things and the latest methodologies/technologies to stay relevant in the game is necessary. Professional courses are an excellent way to upskill and acquire trending skills and knowledge. For instance, if you are in the IT sector, an MSC in Computer Science from Liverpool John Moores University would make you a highly qualified and skilled candidate in the field. 

The things that communicate your life-long learning mentality are subtle yet noticeable to employers. It can be a new hobby you started, your willingness to join a volunteer group, or completing a course online. 

9. Taking Initiative 

Many of us only do as we are told, but only a few go out of their way to do things without being asked. This behaviour shows your dedication towards your profession and organisation. Taking the initiative can be as simple as suggesting improvements in a new project your company has been working on. As someone fairly new to the workforce, this is an important skill that you must develop. 

10. Self-Management

Employers hire different people for various job profiles in a company to avoid micromanaging. The only way to counter this problem is by employing people who are good at self-management. An individual who is good at self-managing does not need anyone to check up on them – they are always on top of their deadlines. Also, when required, they can delegate tasks to other people to get the work done. 

A few good ways of developing self-management are clearing the clutter in your room and keeping it clean at times. Volunteering to work at an organisation, asking for new responsibilities, gaining work experience from internships and placements. 

11. Analytical Thinking Skills

Analytical skills are vital as they help in spotting and solving problems. A person with good analytical skills is organised and can easily break down a task into multiple subsets to make it easier. They are also keen observers, which makes them detail-oriented in all their undertakings. A significant part of analytical thinking is processing information, but that begins with collecting data, and analytical thinkers are good with that. Analytical thinking is all about the following things:

• Growing consistently

Analytical thinking helps to look at every setback differently, where the person analyses the problem and learns from the failures. An excellent example of this is Dominoes, a company that initially failed but sat down and improved its food quality by feedback and constructive criticism. 

• Thinking Ahead

When we say a person is visionary, it means they have calculated the future outcomes to the best of their abilities. Planning also requires a great amount of analytical thinking, so this is one simple thing that you can start doing by yourself in daily activities. 

• Prioritisation

A logical thinker understands the urgency of the situation and plans accordingly. Knowing what to do at what moment requires the presence of mind and an understanding of the organisation’s goal. 

However, one should also keep in mind that analytical thinking simplifies things for yourself and everyone else rather than making them more complicated. Also, one must not allow the process of thinking to hamper the company’s growth, so being action-oriented is just as important. 

Conclusion

Please note the skills mentioned above and try to develop them by making small changes in your daily lives. The job market is highly competitive, and only those who bring something to the table can land a well-paying job having an upward trajectory. And if you can pair these skills with relevant certifications, there’s nothing like it!