These Skills Will Help You Perform Well in Any Job
Job Seekers
Some skills, such as some technical skills, are quickly outdated. Engineers, for example, often become managers or salespeople if they do not update their technical skills. There are some skills, however, that are helpful in any job and do not become obsolete. You will learn about these skills in this article.
It is important for you to be a lifelong learner so that you can acquire and sharpen these skills. This learning might be in the form of ono-the-job training or formal courses offered by your employer. Such training also might be independent learning on you own time and at your own expense, such as with college courses. Other examples of lifelong learning might be attending professional conventions or reading professional journals.
Job search skills are obviously important. Read books and articles about topics such as networking, cover letters, resumes, and interviewing. Attempt to learn something from each job search. Executive Recruiting Agencies such as FPC can help you with your job search.
Performance appraisal preparation is too often overlooked as a critical skill. Supervisors have many subordinates and cannot easily keep track of their accomplishments. You should keep a detailed list of your accomplishments. This list will help you not only during performance evaluations, but also when you update your resume. You also should consider performance appraisals to be learning experiences. Your supervisor will tell you how to improve your performance, and you should make efforts to do so.
Good speaking skills are valuable during job interviews and during interactions with supervisors, coworkers, customers, family members, friends, and acquaintances. It is important to quickly learn and use work related jargon. Being a member of the Toastmasters will help you to become a better speaker. Reading aloud helps to develop a good speaking voice, especially if you record and study you voice.
Writing skills are critical. Supervisors often will forget an occasional speaking problem, but a writing problem is on paper and will not fade from memory. College English classes are helpful. More informal ways to sharpen writing skills are keeping a diary and doing word crossword puzzles. Good writing is hard work. As James Michener said, “I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.”
Stress management knowledge and skills will help you during stressful times at work and during any stressful periods of unemployment. Some of the habits that books and articles on this topic will emphasize include adequate sleep, a good diet, and regular exercise. As an unknown author once said, “A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handles stress exceptionally well.”
Conflict management will help you to manage differences of opinion with fellow workers. These differences of opinion can be significant, especially since there are now five work generations in the American workplaces. They all have different communication preferences and priorities regarding how things should be done at work. Learn everything you can learn about these five age groups. Also, as Bryant McGill said, “Respectful communication under conflict or opposition is an essential and truly awe-inspiring ability.”
Good impression management should not be only for job interviews. You also will make a better impression on your supervisors, fellow employees and customers if you are well dressed, well groomed, and have a professional looking office. Your recorded telephone greetings and social media posts also should be professionally done. One way for new employees to make a good initial impression is to pay close attention during new employee orientation so that they can be productive as soon as possible.
Problem solving techniques will help employees to complete higher level, more complicated tasks. Such tasks are associated with higher level positions. Instead of seeing problems in a negative light, look upon them like I.M. Pei who said, “Success is a collection of problems solved.” As the smaller problems are solved, the solution to the bigger problems become more easily solved.
Time management skills are important, especially when working on group projects. If you do not finish your work project on time, it could delay the completion of work projects of other employees. One of the goals of time management, however, should be to schedule breaks in your work schedule so that you can generate more creative solutions to your projects at work.
Goal setting skills will help you to achieve your best short-term and long-term results. Models such the SMART strategy will help you to set good short-term goals. Even if you have no formal review with your boss at the end of the year, do your own career review. A career review at the end of each year, will help you to set realistic-long-term goals.
Computer skills are technical skills that almost all employees will need in the future. Computer skills are so important that “reverse mentoring” is happening now in the workplace. That is, younger workers, who sometimes are more adept with computers, are mentoring older, less proficient executives on computers. Computer technology will eventually do away with many jobs. Most jobs will require some computer expertise.
Those who acquire the above skills will have more successful careers than will those who do not do so. Most technical skills will be quickly obsolete, but the above skills will help you for the rest of your career.
About the Author
Dan Vale has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education. He has worked for over 30 years in university and government settings. He has been a career counselor, a director of a career counseling center, a graduate school instructor, and a career consultant. As the Career Examiner for the Examiner Online Newspaper, he published 270 career-related articles over a seven-year period. He had multiple endorsements and subscribers, and in April 2016 alone, he had over 19,000 page reads. His book, “Prepare Now for a Challenging Job Market in the Future,” is available on his Amazon Author Page.