Most of the job applicants wish to know the secret behind winning over hiring managers but it is not that easy.

There are certain skills and values that will make employers want to hire you for the vacant role.

Each employer may be looking for some unique set of skills in a candidate and it is difficult to understand what those skills might be.

Both soft skills as well as technical skills are equally important for getting hired.

Soft skills are the combination of social skills, character traits, communication skills, emotional intelligence, social intelligence and career attributes.

The way a person talks with other people in their surrounding, how they influence other people, how they perform certain activities as well as how he/she achieves his/her goals – it all comes under the umbrella of soft skills.

They are a mix of habits, personal qualities, social graces and attitudes that make an applicant a good employee as well as compatible to work with others.

TOP SKILLS THAT EMPLOYERS SEEK FROM YOU

Soft skills always complement the hard skills or technical skills.

The hard skills are all teachable abilities which can be measured and defined like writing, typing, software reading, math, etc.

A few examples of soft skills are strong work ethic, positive attitude, time management ability, good communication skill, flexibility, self-confidence, etc.

Several surveys as well as research have suggested that soft skills can be a good indicator of job performance just like hard skills which is why companies value soft skills.

A survey of 2.3 million LinkedIn profiles done by the Wall Street Journal reveals that almost 58% of the employees who had amazing communication skills were chosen by the hiring managers over the course of a year.

The survey proves that soft skills are just as important as technical skills when it comes to impressing employers.

Here is a list of the important skills and explanation of the reasons for them to be considered important:

  • Professionalism – It is very important to be a professional in the desired field if you want to get the job. Also, you must know that being a professional does not mean possessing any college degree or wearing a coat and tie and having a noted title, it is much more than that. Professionalism is related to how a candidate conducts himself during his/her business affairs. The true professionals have several characteristics that can be applied to almost all kinds of business. One of those characteristics is the demeanor of the candidate. A candidate’s demeanor must exude confidence instead of cockiness. The candidate should always be well spoken and polite while interacting with the hiring manager. The hiring managers may give the candidates case studies to solve during interviews and they must solve them as calmly as they can.
  • Honesty and integrity – When you are being interviewed or after you have gotten the job, you will be expected to act as a professional and find a way to get the work done fast. However, that does not mean you have to get the job done by foul and dishonest means. It is important that you respond to the questions asked by the hiring managers honestly. In addition to this, you must never attach false data to your cover letter or your resume/CV because that cannot only make you lose the job but also lose the trust of the hiring managers in general. Candidates who are honest and have strong moral principles are preferred by job seekers. Especially considering the recent scandals in the corporate sector, nowadays employees want personal integrity more than anything else.
  • Adaptability – Candidates who are social and open to new concepts and new ideas are more in demand by the hiring managers. Companies look for applicants who have no problem in changing environment or workplaces time to time. Applicants who are highly positive, adaptable, resilient and patient are the ones who are really open to new ideas and these applicants are selected before others during job interviews. The candidates who are open to work as part of a team or work independently and to carry out several projects and tasks are also preferred by hiring managers.
  • Problem-solving – The hiring managers want applicants who are in love with the job they do. Applicants who are passionate about what they do are also the ones who work on a problem till they solve it and get the work done. The employers want workers who are productive and have strong work ethics as well as individuals who exert their best efforts to complete a task successfully. All kinds of businesses have their issues and the way an employee deals with those issues is what makes him/her different from others. The better you are at dealing with a problem, better are the chances you have in bagging the job.
  • Dependability, reliability and responsibility – Almost all employers want employees who arrive to work on time every day and are always ready to work on their task or project. No hiring manager wants an employee who sits idle, takes several breaks and delays on deadlines. Candidates who believe in taking responsibility for their actions are generally wanted by the hiring managers. If you are a responsible contributor and are dependable, hiring manager would prefer you over other applicants.
  • Loyalty – The hiring managers want employees who promise to have a strong dedication as well as devotion to the company. There are times when the company would not be doing very well in the market, this is where the loyalty of the employees is tested most. The applicant who will have a strong devotion to the company are wanted by the employers. The hiring managers may even give you some situations to see how you would act in times to financial crisis or market value decline of the company. Employers want candidates who stay with the company and are loyal to it even when the management is not quite loyal to its employees. Mostly people who have a work experience are able to prove their loyalty with the company as they have past records.
  • Positive attitude/motivation/energy/passion – Having a positive attitude about things you do is important. Hence, before applying for a job, ask yourself if you are passionate for the work they are asking of you. Doing a job just for the sake of money is not good for your career because subsequently you would get bored of the job and would want to leave it. The hiring managers want applicants who demonstrate their passion, their enthusiasm towards the job with both words and actions. The jobseekers who eventually get hired or get promoted are the ones who have the drive to complete the job with both energy as well as positive attitude.
  • Self-confidence – Someone who lacks self-confidence is generally very unsure about what he/she does and requires motivation constantly. Employers want jobseekers who are confident about themselves and the work they do. Self-confidence is very important to complete a task successfully, especially a task that has the element of risk involved. A self-confident employee is willing to take risks to complete their professional as well as personal goals.
  • Teamwork – A business, whether a partnership or a company, involves more than one person and the employee/smust work with the owners as a part of the team. One of the soft skills that many employees lack is teamwork. The employers want candidates who like to work in a team. Nowadays, there are a lot of jobs that involve working in a work group or in a team, so the jobseekers should have the ability to work with other people in a professional manner in order to achieve a common goal. Applicants who excel in building relationships with colleagues and customers are wanted by the hiring managers.
  • Planning and organizing – Candidates who can plan, organize, design and implement projects within a given time period are also wanted by the hiring managers. Without proper planning, a task cannot be completed, hence, the candidate should have this soft skill to get the job. Jobseekers who have excellent organization and planning skills and are detail orientated are in demand more than applicants who are not.
  • Leadership and management skills – Leadership is not something you are born with, but you learn to lead with experience and knowledge. Employers look for employees who have the ability to lead a team, take charge of the co-workers and manage them. The goal driven job-seekers who can motivate co-workers and other employees effectively are wanted by hiring managers. Further, applicants who maintain a productive climate, mobilize confidently as well as coach co-workers to do high standard work are wanted by the employers.
  • Multicultural sensitivity and awareness – We live in a beautiful world where we interact with people from different cultures, race and other communities almost daily. In the workplace as well, there is diversity and it is the responsibility of the employee to behave in a polite way with everyone. The applicants who want a job in a particular company should demonstrate awareness and sensitivity to other cultures and people. Employers want employees who have an ability to work with a diverse workforce in different multicultural settings.
  • Willingness to learn – Applicants who are knowledge hungry, eager to meet challenges, enthusiastic and are quick to assimilate new ideas and concepts are much in demand these days. It does not matter what is their age and how much experience they have, what really matters is that they are willing to learn as well as understand new technique and skills. This soft skill is important because jobs are changing and evolving constantly now and the candidates should be open to learn and grow with that change.
  • Self-motivated and able to work without supervision – Teamwork is an important skill but so is the ability to work with minimal supervision and independently. A person who is self-motivated and who initiates work is in more demand than other applicants who do not do that.
  • Analytical skill – Jobseekers who have the ability to articulate, visualize, conceptualize and solve the uncomplicated as well as the complex problems by making decisions which are sensible are welcomed by the hiring managers. Logical reasoning is an essential soft skill that almost all employers or hiring managers look for.
  • Technical literacy – It is important for an individual to have the basic knowledge of how to use computers as well as the new technology tools that are emerging in the market. Hiring managers are looking to employ people who have technical literacy of how to integrate, manage, access, create, communicate and evaluate information. The entry level technical skills allow even a non-computer user to start using tech in a more effective manner. In addition to this, these technical skills serve as the commencement point for developing more advanced skills.
  • Strong work ethics – To achieve the set goals, a strong work ethic is a must for any employee of any company. All employers want an individual who has a good work ethic to keep the business functioning at its fall or its peaks. By good work ethic, we mean a set of moral principles that an individual use in his work. There are some factors that come together to create a good and strong work ethic and those factors include quality, discipline, a sense of teamwork, integrity, and a sense of responsibility.
  • Interpersonal abilities – Interpersonal skills are those skills that we use regularly in our daily lives while communicating or interacting with other people, whether in groups or one-on-one. Hiring managers want people who have strong interpersonal skills because these people are more successful in their personal as well as professional lives. The interpersonal skills or social skills also include a wide variety of factors, but some of those factors are based on communication like questioning, listening and understanding body language. In addition to this, the social skills also include the attributes and skills associated with emotions like the ability to manage as well as understand the emotions of others.
  • Creativity – Contrary to the popular belief, this soft skill is a skill that can be developed over time. Not all people are born creative, but they can learn the art of creativity from others or the Internet. Creativity is a process that can be improved. It starts with a foundation of knowledge, understanding the discipline and learning the way of thinking. By experimenting, using imagination, questioning assumptions, exploring and synthesizing information, you can be creative. Hiring managers want people who value creativity.
  • Reasoning – It is very important to know the difference between inferences and observations. By observation, we mean using senses like seeing, touching, smelling, hearing to collect the data or information required. Inferences are just the conclusion that we draw from those observations. Reasoning allows an individual to differentiate between the two and come to a logical decision, which is what the hiring managers are looking for in a candidate.

PERSONAL VALUES THAT EMPLOYEES LOOK FOR IN YOU

The job applicant must have the right mix of skills, ethics and talent to crack the interview and get an opportunity to work in the company they applied at.

Further, there are some personal values that hiring managers look for, like authenticity, authority, competency, faith, curiosity, kindness, optimism, loyalty, patience, etc.

The values important in a workplace are being discussed by executive teams as well as mainstream media across the globe.

Every jobseeker wants to know “What the employers want?” and “Which personal values matter the most at work?” so here are a few of them.

The most common values you must share with the employer in order to get hired are:

Trustworthiness – If you want to establish a great relationship with your hiring manager, start with being honest and earning their trust. Employers want you to be careful with the information they provide to you when you become their employees. They want employees who do not pilfer from the office supplies or watch TV on the computer while working. Hiring managers know that you will be representing the company in front of outsiders such as customers, shareholders and suppliers – hence, they want trustworthy employees.

Hardwork – Applicants who are hardworking and dedicated towards their job are wanted by the hiring managers. Hiring managers look for candidates who apply optimal efforts in completing a job.

Commitment – The hiring managers want people who are committed to their job as well as the company they are working for. This is only possible if they are committed to their job and are passionate about their work.

Keeping promises you make – It is important for an employee to be reliable and dependable. The jobseekers should be responsible for their actions and things they did in the past. It shows that they are responsible as well as reliable. In the company, these jobseekers – when employed – will have to deal with potential customers or clients. There, they will have to make certain promises to their clients which they will be expected to keep. Hiring managers look for people who keep their promises, who do not back out from their promises and who are credible.

Meeting deadline – If you have any work experience, it would be easy for your potential employer to find out whether you kept deadlines at your past job/s or you did not to that. In case you respected deadlines and submitted the work on time, there is a huge chance that the hiring manager will hire you. This is because one of the most important personal values of work places is meeting deadlines. However, if you had failed to keep deadlines in the previous job, be prepared to offer a credible reason as to why you failed at that. According to YouTube blogger Lori Harder, there is a real science that states you are inviting the solution into your life when you actually set a deadline. She adds that your subconscious and brain begin to go to work on the deadline whenever you lock in a deadline. Hiring managers look for people who are good at keeping up with their deadlines.

Punctuality – You can first prove you are punctual by being on time for your job interview. The importance of punctuality can be seen through the survey mentioned in Content. Wise step, which says that about 15%-18% people are late to reach their workplaces. One of the easiest yet most difficult thing to do in the present world is being punctual. This creates a problem in the workflow of the place as well as waste the time of the people. The impact of punctuality is high in the work environment, which many employees do not realize. You can garner a lot of attention as well as respect from the hiring managers by being at the workplace on time.

Patience and tolerance – Other key personal workplace values are being patient and tolerant. A candidate who waits an hour when his hiring manager is late is given more credit and respect in comparison to one who leaves for a coffee or tea. Hence, the importance of patience should not be ignored by jobseekers. There are multiple situations where your patience is needed, especially in a work employment. The jobseekers can attain jobs in their desired companies by being patient and tolerant. Further, it would help them in their professional development.

CONCLUSION

The values, attitudes and beliefs that candidates hold build their perceptions of the world.

Personal values at the workplace shape the daily work actions and decisions.

According to a recent Times Jobs survey which had around 750 respondents, 60% of the hiring managers feel that soft skills are quite important while hiring employees; however, 70% of the respondents think it is very difficult to find these skills in the applicants.

In another survey, done as part of the most recent Leadburg-MTHR Soft-Skills Priorities in Employability Survey, the human resource professionals were questioned about the importance of skills and they said that non-cognitive behavioral skills are as important as technical and domain skills.

The respondents said that domain skills can be given through training, but the process becomes very difficult without core behavioral skills.

So, there you are – these are the top skills and values employers seek from job-seekers.

Top Skills and Values Employers Seek from Job-Seekers

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