Employability Skills: The Skills You Need to Get a Job

The competition in the job market is growing every day. Besides technical expertise, recruiters also look into employability skills. Explore this article to understand employability skills and what specific skills you need to land your next job. 

What Are Employability Skills?

Employability skills refer to a set of transferable qualities. These skills are what make a candidate employable. Your education and experience will equip you with the subject matter expertise to flourish in a job. 

But employers are also looking for certain soft skills in candidates. These soft skills are essential for fulfilling your role in the company. Therefore, employability skills can be the building block of your career. 

Some Common Employability Skills

The most valuable employability skills that a job aspirant can have are as follows:

Communication

Every job requires you to communicate at different levels. From providing solutions to a problem to sharing updates about a project, communication is necessary everywhere. Any individual who is an efficient communicator is extremely valuable to employers. Both verbal and written communication skills are valued in a modern workplace. 

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is not a skill exclusively required at the managerial level. Problem-solving skills will empower you in fulfilling a wide range of roles. Employers will always appreciate you when you are able to find effective solutions instead of simply identifying a problem. 

Critical Thinking

Your critical thinking skills will always help you perform better in the workplace. From developing strategies to executing operations, critical thinking skills are important everywhere. Any individual who is good at observations will possess the ability to think innovatively and critically. 

Time Management

Your time management skills are highly important whether you are working in an office or remote environment. It will increase your productivity levels and help you achieve more goals in your workplace. Proper time management skills will also keep stress at bay. 

Self-Motivation

Employers will always value candidates who can do things on their own without being supervised or instructed. Coming up with new ideas also shows self-motivation and your ability to work independently. 

Leadership

Having leadership abilities shows that you know how to take charge and stay proactive. It is particularly important in managerial positions to make the entire team work efficiently to complete all tasks at hand. 

Collaboration

The ability to work in teams or collaborate with others is essential in a modern workplace. You will often have to work in cross-departmental or interdepartmental teams to complete projects with the desired results. 

Why Are Employability Skills Important?

Recruiters value employability skills because they determine how well you will handle your job performance and career success. Additionally, employability skills will help you with the following in the workplace:

• Connecting with co-workers
• Understanding your role within a team
• Solving problems
• Making practical choices for your career and job
• Taking charge of your career

How Do You Demonstrate These Skills to Employers?

You must highlight all your employability skills in your application materials in the following ways:

• Resume: Add action words to your resume to show the impact of your employability skills. 
• Cover Letter: Add examples or anecdotes of your employability skills in your cover letters.
• Interviews: You can also share examples of your employability skills while answering technical and behavioural interview questions. 

How to Improve Employability Skills?

You can improve your employability skills through the following ways:

• Playing sports and pursuing other hobbies
• Participating in group or community activities
• Advancing education through courses
• Participating in internships and similar opportunities
• Finding a mentor in the workplace and learning from them

How to Find Your Employability Skills

You can find your employability skills in the following way:

• Make a list of all the activities you do during the day. It will help you figure out what you are good at. 
• Every activity you perform in a day is related to some responsibility that demands employability skills. Mention the responsibilities associated with the tasks you perform every day.
• Compile all the employability skills you have and mention them in your portfolio. 

Ending Note

Remember that your employability skills are as important as industry-relevant knowledge and expertise. Since employability skills can give you an edge over other candidates, focus on developing these skills. 

FAQs:

• What is the meaning of employability skills in a job aspirant?

Employability skills refer to different desirable and transferable qualities that make a candidate attractive to a recruiter. 

• Is communication an important employability skill?

Communication is one of the most important employability skills for all jobs. 

• Why is it important to develop employability skills?

You should focus on developing your employability skills to become noticeable in front of recruiters.