What skills do employers want?

Hiring managers and employers rank skills as an important factor when recruiting candidates, so it is important when writing your CV, cover letter or even in an interview to consider the skills that are needed to fulfil the requirements of the role you are applying for. Here are some common ones to consider when asking what skills do employers want?:

Analysis and decision-making

You may need to be able to provide evidence of your problem solving skills, how you have conducted research and applied your findings or how you made an informed decision and demonstrated accountability for it.

Commercial awareness

Be able to demonstrate business and industry insight, showing an understanding of a company’s structure, their products and services, their ethos and even the challenges that they are facing.

Communication

Evidence of how you have persuaded and influenced others and also actively listened to them. Remember that in an interview you will be demonstrating this skill.

Creativity

Give examples of the ideas that you have developed and the innovative solutions that you have implemented. Try to think of examples of when you have challenged the status quo and had a positive outcome.

Customer relationship management

Be able to give examples of how you anticipated, influenced and fulfilled customer needs and how you put the customer first.

Leadership

Be prepared to talk about how you have worked as part of a team and how you have used your leadership skills to motivate others. If you can, use examples of networking to demonstrate how you have developed and maintained relationships.

Planning and organisation

Think of examples that you can use to demonstrate when you have structured and prioritised tasks and activities. Try to describe how you have broken down an activity into manageable and measurable parts and successfully delivered a project.

Self-management

Can you demonstrate initiative, resourcefulness, focus, self-reliance and motivation? Try to show evidence of when you have set yourself a goal and achieved it or an instance when you have took control of your own learning.

Remember you probably won’t be asked to demonstrate all these skills, but it is important to recognise the skills that are required to fulfil the role and be able to articulate them, evidencing them in your work history.