Hiring managers are looking for these skills. Here’s how you can recognize them in yourself.
After the pandemic, the hiring process has changed substantially. Skills that used to be prioritized in job interviews, such as the technical skills are not the only traits that employers are seeking.
Managers are keen on identifying skills that build out other skills. Having these behavioral skills as a foundation, employees can acquire new skills and talents and continue to utilize them throughout their careers.
The best way to understand yourself from a skills perspective is to consider things you’re good at and the things that energize you. Those two components will truly allow you to develop that skill into a strength. Here are the five skills that managers are looking in today’s work environment.
Curiosity
Asking great questions, investigating the world around you, and always expanding your horizons, then consider curiosity a skill of yours. You often find new situations and experiences exciting because they provide opportunities for you to discover more.
Be sure to think of a time when being curious allowed you to gather information to do something quicker or more efficiently, in the workplace or even outside of the workplace, and highlight that example.
Learning agility
Do you enjoy learning new things about a wide range of topics? Can you pivot quickly from discovering information about one thing and applying it, to then quickly moving on to something new? If so, then consider learning agility one of your skills.
Ensure you convey to managers when you have applied it to learn something new and adjust your thinking.
Growth mindset
Those who possess a growth mindset have the desire to conquer new challenges, even if they require persistence to succeed. They have an inner belief that they can achieve their goals and find it motivating to work on unfamiliar projects.
It is important to make the distinction that those with a growth mindset seek out projects that are difficult in order to showcase their persistence and resilience, rather than being open to any and all opportunities in which they think they can be successful.
Critical analysis
If you have the capacity to look at issues from different perspectives and enjoy consulting with multiple people to identify next steps and make informed decisions, then you may be good at critical analysis. You are able to grasp complex concepts, including numerical information, and can draw themes.
Collaboration
Those who know that working with others is the best way to achieve results, and who enjoy contributing and delivering on shared goals can add collaboration to their list of skills. You most likely work well in-person and virtually and know how to adapt your communication style. Be sure to show the kind of teammate you want to be and how you plan on showing up to work if they were to give you this role.
It is important to think of these skills as accelerators that will help you develop yourself further in your career. Highlighting these skills to managers will show that you have potential to grow and move on to greater leadership roles in the organization.
Having these will also help you develop further as an individual. Taken together, the skills give you an understanding of yourself, how you use information, how you challenge yourself, and how you are with others. This is what is going to give you the basis to go on and build additional strengths and talents.
About the Author
Saadiqa Amatul is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison and is currently working as a Business Analyst & Microsoft Dynamics Consultant at Ascent Innovations LLC. Saadiqa volunteers her time working with children with neurodevelopmental disorders towards behavioral development.
