• 131
• 255
• 14

Mentoring Tips: necessarily job skills not related to your job

by bernt & torsten

The person that is hiring you, make the difficult decision of who the best candidate is for the job based not just on the specific job requirements but also on basic “soft skills”, like communication and teamwork.

Here are some pointers to consider

Technology Skills

Even those who don’t work with technology directly need to have some basic tech skills and knowledge. How to navigate your company’s intranet portal to make changes, how to use the company’s communication tools, and just the basics of how computers work so you could talk to IT when you need troubleshooting help. The more technical skills you do add, the more you expand what you can do at work and improve your hireability—such as learning HTML and CSS, you can start contributing to your employer’s intranet.

The Ability to Work Well on a Team

Hiring managers often emphasize the importance of cultural fit and the ability to work well on a team when they evaluate job candidates, whether it’s for entry-level jobs or ones in higher positions. Few people’s jobs are entirely solitary ones—we rely on others for our work as much as others rely on us. Simply feeling like a part of the team can fuel your work. Highly effective teams communicate well, share common goals, and even make time for humor. If you can follow these seven rules for collaborating with others, build trust with others, and handle criticism well, you’re golden

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Empathizing with others will help you better understand the people around you, the needs of your customers, how to motivate others, and how to deal with conflicts with others. The difference between knowledge and understanding is empathy. You can improve your empathy by learning to really listen and practicing trying to see things from others’ points of view.

Self-Confidence and Assertiveness

Without a healthy dose of self-confidence, you probably can’t do your job well, much less advance your career. Likewise, being non-confrontational can hold you back in life. You’ll need self-awareness too to improve any aspect of your life, including your productivity. There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance, of course, as well as a difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness, but as long as you don’t go overboard, these skills will help you work better.

Writing Skills & Verbal Communications Skills

Communication skills (like writing) are a requirement for employees. Without being able to communicate clearly or express yourself properly, you probably won’t get ahead at work. Improve your writing.

Verbal Communications Skills is a requirement just about every employer has. Whether it’s making a clear point when you’re talking in a meeting, giving a presentation, communicating better at work is one of your key roles.

Time Management

This is one of the cornerstones of productivity, productivity is more about managing your energy than it is about managing your tasks or time. Forget multitasking—it makes us work less efficiently, not more and wastes time—unless you do it right.

Networking Skills

Your employer might not outright say that you need to be able to network in order to do your job, but for many of us this is a skill that comes into play in our work (and not just for finding a new job)

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Any jobs, at their core, are about solving problems, knowing how to think is far more empowering than knowing what to think,. Learn how to train your mind to think critically, when you demonstrate your powers of critical and creative thinking, you’ll earn much respect at work and become a more valuable employee.

Negotiation Skills

Negotiation skills are important, through good negotiation, you can resolve conflicts and find win-win solutions for your team. You might negotiate regularly with clients or vendors, negotiate with your co-workers to switch shifts and negotiate with your boss to let you work from home or take on a big project.