The Three Top Skills Employers are Looking For

Posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2017

Whether you’re looking for a co-op placement or a permanent position, or even if you’re looking for a part-time job through school, you’ve probably discovered that it’s a competitive world out there.

You’re probably already aware that to have a successful job hunt, you need to share not only your hard, industry-related skills, but also your soft, transferable skills—those skills that are useful and important in any context.

But what soft skills are employers looking for? There are dozens and dozens of transferable skills, but some are in more demand than others. How does this help you?

By knowing what employers are looking for, you can seek out opportunities to develop these skills further. You’ll also know that if you do have experience with these skills, you should be emphasizing them during your application process.

So here they are—the top three skills employers are looking for.

1. Communication

Any article listing the most important transferable skills to master lists communication right near the top. There is very good reason for this.

Good communication skills cover a whole range of different abilities—the ability to speak and write clearly, to accurately convey your message, and to tailor your communications to make them appropriate for your audience. Being able to do these things means that you’re well equipped to work with your coworkers, supervisors, and clients.

You can develop your communication skills in lots of different ways. Reading and writing every day will help your technical communication, but paying attention to your non-verbal communication—such as body language and listening abilities—can really help make your communication stronger.

Jobs in retail, food service, and administration are often great places for growing your communication skills. If you have that kind of experience, highlight it on your resume!

2. Teamwork

Teamwork goes hand-in-hand with communication, which is why it is a skill that also often tops the list of what employers are looking for.

Working in team means more than having a lot of friends—it means that you can operate in a place with competing opinions and priorities, and make the situation work. It means that you can work with everyone else’s strengths and weaknesses to come to a collaborative, positive outcome.

How do you improve your own teamwork abilities?

Your communication skills—especially listening and being able to clearly express yourself—are key. Teamwork requires the desire to collaborate, meaning that you take time to hear others’ opinions and are willing to compromise on your own.

Environments like retail or sports teams are incredible places to build your teamwork skills.

2. Problem Solving

Finally, employers are looking for people with problem solving skills. Communication and teamwork both play a role in problem solving, and these three make up a seriously impressive set of skills for you to show off to employers.

Problem solving skills involve a lot of other things. You need to be able to consider a problem, see the different options and solutions available to you, and evaluate the outcomes. Once you’ve acted on a solution, you need to be able to look back and learn from the situation.

Being able to problem solve is relevant in any career, anywhere. Because it’s so prevalent, you can improve your problem-solving skills in many ways, too. Service industry experience, video games, and essay writing all represent different facets of problem solving. And while you probably can’t put ‘playing video games’ on your resume, you almost definitely have other experience that serves to strengthen your problem-solving skills.

Knowing what skills employers are after can help you tailor your resume to exactly match employers’ needs. While these three are examples of skills in demand in all fields, your industry might have some particular demands. It’s worth doing some research to figure out what those might be.

Once you know what employers need, you can be sure to show them just how you fill that need. Your cover letter, resume, LinkedIn, and all other job hunting materials can all reflect your experience with those skills. That will help you stand out in any job hunt.

 

Questions about co-op? If you would like to learn more about the Algonquin College co-op program, please visit our website at https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/, connect with us at coop@algonquincollege.com or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623. You can also follow us on Twitter @AlgonquinCoop.


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