What are Employability Skills?
Employability skills are those skills necessary for getting, keeping and being successful in a job.They are the skills and attitudes that enable employees to get along with their colleagues, to make critical decisions, solve problems, develop respect and ultimately become strong ambassadors for the organisation. Employability or ‘soft skills’ are the foundation of your career building blocks and they are frequently referenced in the media as lacking in school-leavers, graduates and those already in employment. Organisations spend a lot of time and money training staff, not in job specific areas but in general and basic skills.
Interpersonal Skills:
Interpersonal skills are vital when seeking employment and may be the single most important factor for many recruiters. Interpersonal skills are the skills we use to interact with other people. Good interpersonal skills allow you to participate effectively as a member of a team, satisfy customers and clients' expectations, negotiate, make decisions, manage your time efficiently, take responsibility, and work effectively with other employees. Well-honed interpersonal skills allow us to empathise and build rapport with colleagues and clients, leading to a better working environment which can be less stressful.
Communication Skills:
Employers look for people who communicate well both verbally and in writing. If you are either applying for a job or looking for a promotion with your current employer, you will need to demonstrate good communication skills. The ability to communicate both verbally and in writing with a wide variety of people, maintain good eye contact, write clearly and succinctly, demonstrate a varied vocabulary and tailor your language to your audience are all essential skills that employers seek out. Good verbal and written communication means you can get your messages across with less chance of misunderstanding. Similarly, active listening skills involve not only hearing but gaining and understanding information. Listening is a basic requirement leading to fewer mistakes and a greater understanding of the needs of employer and client. As your career progresses, the importance of communication skills increases since as well as creativity, people skills, and an aptitude for teamwork, the ability to speak and write with clarity and conciseness is essential for managers.
Critical Thinking Skills:
The ability to solve problems and make decisions can be a huge asset to your employer and these are therefore desirable skills to develop. Decision making and problem solving require gathering reliable information, evaluating the information for a variety of solutions and selecting the most appropriate option based on the criteria and situation. Although the ability to solve problems and make appropriate decisions are critical in any job, people with these skills are especially helpful in customer service positions. The ability to be able to effectively plan and organise means that you, or your team, are more likely to get the job done correctly the first time. These skills are beneficial to employers as they save time and money. Planning and organisation also require the recording of information (maybe in a report) which can be referred to when planning future projects. Creative thinkers are innovative and inventive and are more likely to devise new ways of doing things that add value to the work environment, making systems and procedures more efficient. Creative thinkers can offer new perspectives about the job and the company. (Collected)
