Todays job market is incredibly competitive, with hundreds and even thousands of people applying for the same job vacancy. More people than ever are educated to a university standard, meaning academic qualifications are no longer the be all and end all. Instead, many employers are having to look at CVs and determine transferable skills to set candidates apart, making it all the more important for you to be a Jack of all trades. To help you enhance your CV and better your chances of getting a job, here are some transferable skills employers value that you should consider mastering to add to your resume.
Adaptability
If there’s one thing that will bode well on your CV, and in life in general, it’s having the ability to be adaptable. When you’re adaptable you’re able to easily mold yourself to different situations and scenarios, allowing you to take on a diverse range of roles and responsibilities. Being adaptable goes hand in hand with being able to multi-task, and it will surely help you in several aspects of your work and everyday life. If you haven’t already, put some time into mastering adaptability.
Communication
Being able to communicate properly is a vital skill and one than can be extended across almost sector. From increasing engineering and tech to IT and marketing skills, communication is one of the assets you should be investing the most into. This means refining your verbal, written and listening capabilities to ensure you’re able to effectively speak to people of all avenues.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is one of those skills that everyone needs but few have mastered. It takes a lot of initiative and the ability to think on your feet. The reason employers will look for this skill is because it shows you’re capable of taking charge of a situation and being analytical in order to understand the problem and think about how to solve it. This is useful for everything, from when things go wrong to important meetings and make decisions.
Attention to Detail
There are two types of people: those who scan, and those who look meticulously. It is the latter who stand in good stead of getting an employer’s attention because no one wants to hire someone who doesn’t take due care when doing a job. With this in mind, make sure you work on your attention detail. Don’t just say you have attention to detail when you don’t – it will be incredibly noticeable – especially if there’s an error on your resume.
Self-Evaluation
One of the most important skills in life and indeed in the workplace is having the ability to evaluate your own performance. If you’re good at critical thinking, this will help you with self-evaluation. It’s not easy to take criticism or recognize flaws in yourself, but failure to do so could set you up for a harsh awakening when someone else points out your flaws for you. Being able to take a step back and critically assess your actions and how you handled certain situations will allow you to improve your performance without being asked to – a good trait in the workplace and one employers will value.
Summary
Finding a job is tough in today’s economy and requires candidates to make themselves different from everyone else, even when they have a lot in common. Along with necessary qualifications and relevant work experience, employers want well-rounded employees.
Nothing says well-rounded quite like transferable skills employers value that be maximized in any role. With this in mind, make a conscious effort to work on the attributes listed above. Doing so will not only open more employment doors for you, but it will also help you out in your life outside of work, too.