Which skills are in demand by employers?
Which skills are in demand by employers?
Employers are not just interested in formal qualifications when they’re recruiting somebody for a job!
You may still be in education, or only recently have left school or college, but there’s actually a lot you’ve done during this time that can help you get a job. Think about your spare time activities. Having a part-time job, babysitting, being a member of a club: all these things will have helped you develop the kind of skills that employers are looking for - such as organising, planning, dealing with other people.
These other qualities are often called Soft Skills or Core Skills. A skill is anything you can learn to do competently, a developed aptitude or ability. At school if you have studied Higher Still courses, you will find that you have been assessed for Core Skills and these will appear on your Scottish Qualification Certificate. The Core Skills are:
- Problem Solving
- Communication
- Numeracy
- Information Technology
- Working with Others
So how do I know which skills I have?
You are an individual and you bring your own special skills and qualities to any job. These factors are more difficult to measure, so you might miss them out from a CV or application form. Thinking about these skills under the following headings may help you to see how you can impress an employer.
Try using these headings to identify your skills:
- Verbal Communication Skills
- Written Communication Skills
- Skills dealing with Paperwork and Numbers
- Problem Solving skills
- Practical and Mechanical Skills
- Information Technology Skills
- Transferable Skills
- Personality
- Additional Skills
Verbal Communication Skills - Talking to/dealing with people
For example
- using the telephone
- answering enquiries
- selling
- organising people
- teaching
- ability to talk to people - such as elderly people or those in distress
- dealing with complaints
- explaining things
- listening to people
- understanding their difficulties
- counselling
Written Communication Skills
For example:
- writing minutes
- reading
- writing or checking reports
- writing letters
Skills dealing with Paperwork and Numbers
For example:
- keeping or organising records and files
- doing accounts
- budgeting
- dealing with letters
- typing or keyboard skills
- using measurements
Problem Solving skills
For example:
- coming up with good ideas
- planning and organising things
- finding solutions to problems
Practical and Mechanical Skills
For example:
- using your hands
- using tools
- fixing or repairing things
- cooking
- woodworking
- sewing
- building things
- maintaining machines
- handicrafts
Information Technology Skills
For example:
- using office application packages - word processing, spreadsheets, databases
- internet skills - doing searches, using e-mail
- advanced computer skills - programming, hardware/software support
Transferable Skills
If you want to apply for jobs that are a bit different from anything you have done in the past, you might be put off applying because you feel that you have no relevant experience, and would therefore stand little chance of being considered.
While in the strictest sense it could be true that you have no experience of that particular kind of work, if you stop and think about it there may well be tasks and skills involved in the job that you have done in the past, but in a different context. Skills you have learnt and developed in one situation, that you could use in a different situation are referred to as 'Transferable Skills'.
Having now identified the skills and abilities that you do possess, you can see which would apply to any new job you might be considering. You may already be realising that you do have more relevant and useful experience than you had at first supposed!
Personality
Your personality, as well as your skills, will lead you to enjoy, be good at and be suitable for some jobs more than others. You need to think about the characteristics that make up your personality, your likes, the way you are, act and react.
You should think about yourself as a person and identify characteristics that will be relevant to you at work. Look at and consider this list of characteristics:
- hard working
- reliable
- sociable
- enjoy a challenge
- determined
- persuasive
- a sense of humour
- enjoy leading a team
- like being in a team
- common sense
- adaptable
- punctual
- innovative
- confident
There are many more - see our Action Words - think about those that apply to you and ask someone you trust what they think you are like. You might have already identified some of these characteristics as skills. List your characteristics and try to think of activities that demonstrate these aspects of your personality. These could include your hobbies and interests, social activities, sports, achievements at work and things you do for others (such as voluntary work).
| You like being in a team - | Personality Trait |
| | | |
| You join a drama group - | Activity |
| | | |
| Communications skills - dealing with people | Skills |
| | | |
| Receptionist - | Relevance |
Additional Skills
For example: driving, languages, first-aid. You will find that you have skills in some of these areas, but not necessarily in all.
