Getting a job and building a career has always been a challenging phase in the life of people and the pandemic only makes it more difficult.
With increased layoffs, there is an increase in competition. The pandemic has given way to a remote working setup and in such a situation employers have access to a larger talent pool making things difficult for people who are looking for a job.
However, things are not as bleak as they look at the first sight. According to the World Economic Forum, we are standing on the doors of Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution. This opens the doors to a host of opportunities in both the digital and physical world. For deserving people in any of the two fields, the sky is the limit for career growth.
To withstand the competition and make your way to the coveted jobs across the different sectors, you need to upskill yourself accordingly. Here is a look at some of the top skills that will help you get industry ready for the top jobs of this decade.
Negotiation Skills
In recent years, automation is taking up a good fraction of jobs and putting the livelihood of billions of people at stake. However, as a race, there is one thing that we are much better than what any robot can ever be - the art of social communication and negotiation.
If you can work on your interpersonal skills, it will be difficult for your employer to replace you with a machine. Today, as the world prepares for Industry 4.0, candidates who can negotiate with colleagues, clients, managers, and teams stand at an advantage of being picked up by an employer.
Written Communication Skills
With the availability of resources being easier than ever before, an average resume is glanced at only for a few seconds before deciding its fate. In such a situation, effective written communication is of paramount importance. Understand that a simple grammatical mistake in your resume can cost you a job.
Moreover, several companies have a communication round that employees have to quality. Thus, one of the most important steps in preparing for a job interview in 2020 is polishing your language skills.
Service Orientation and Problem-Solving Abilities
Today, businesses in the IT, finance, and energy sectors are finding themselves face-to-face with customer's concerns that did not exist till a decade ago. These include worries on food safety, labor standards, privacy, pandemic preparedness, carbon footprints, and a host of others. In such a situation, leading organizations are looking for service-oriented employees who will be prompt in anticipating consumer values and needs and delivering to that expectation level.
As someone on the lookout of jobs, you can work on your service orientation skills by being empathetic and putting yourselves in the shoes of potential customers. That way, you will be able to understand what they value, fear, and dislike. This will enable you to thinks of new products or ways to amend your service to cater to the changing customer needs.
Critical Thinking Abilities
Irrespective of the domain you are associated with, the fact is that an employer would want quick and effective solutions to a problem. They know that it is people with critical thinking abilities who can interrogate an issue from different angles and arrive at a concrete solution for the same. Such a person often arrives at multiple solutions to a problem, evaluates them, and then finalizes the best possible way out.
That is what makes employers be on a constant lookout of such people. Luckily, this is not a skill that people are born with and it is only with practice that you become a critical thinker. Make a conscious effort to see the big picture any time any issue comes and then zero in on the relevant minute details. The way you zero in on the solutions and the effectiveness with which you have it done is what makes the difference.
Ability to Adapt to Changes
The present pandemic has put the world in a situation where conventional solutions are not working. From education to commerce, everything is happening in a ‘new normal’ way. Employers are looking for people who have the skills to survive in challenging times.To prepare for this, candidates need to think outside the box in every situation.
Basic digital literacy, flexibility to work at a time of the employer’s convenience, video marketing skill, and the interest to upskill oneself are some of the other qualities that people look for in a candidate. It is expected that in the coming years, energy, IT, and data sectors will undergo significant changes and that is why adaptability is a skill you should hone as soon as possible if you wish to survive.
People Management Skills
Irrespective of whether you are applying for a technical or managerial position, people management skills are an integral part of every job sphere. Simply knowing how to do your job will no longer suffice and you will have to walk the extra mile and motivate your teammates and colleagues. When a potential candidate demonstrates qualities of emotional intelligence, an employee sees them as someone who is not just productive but has the potential of improving the productivity of others.
To inculcate people management skills, try to take ownership of activities in your home or college that involves coordination among different people. This may be anything from leading your college band to arranging a golden jubilee anniversary celebration for your grandparents.
In the coming days, across sectors, the job opportunities are expected to rise in a post-pandemic world. Every step that you take to upskill yourself today will pay off and help you get the job of your dreams. The key is pushing yourself to stay motivated, upskill, and put your best foot forward all the time.
