Here are the Top 11 Skills Employers Look For in Every Candidate

Updated on: Feb 11, 2019
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If you’re in college or completed your college and looking for a job and are absolutely bombarded with ‘career-making advice’, don’t stress. We’ve all been there. 

To impress recruiters and get hired, you’ll definitely need to have some of the basic & advanced skills in your CV or Resume. And so, we’ve put together a list of the top 11 skills employers look for in every candidate before hiring

Also Read: How to format the skills section in your Resume

Now, you can conveniently drain out all that unwanted advice and work determinedly towards the path you’ve chosen. We have come up with some of the basic soft & hard skills which you must have and which are applicable in every field irrespective of their type. 

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Here are the top 11 skills Employers look for:

 

 

1. Communication Skills

The first and the foremost skill which every recruiter wants in a candidate is communication skill. It is one of the most important skills to have. 

Your verbal & written communication along with listening comes under your communication skills. It’s all about being clear, concise, and focused, as well as being able to tailor your message to the audience and listen to what others have to say.

And communicating is not always about being a good speaker. It is equally important to be a good listener. Especially since covid, when offices are operating remotely, having clear communication on calls and zoom is of utmost importance. 

The clarity in pronunciation as well as the ability to explain complex things in simpler ways is what makes a good communicator. 

So, if you have better communication skills, then the chances of getting the job become very high for you. 

2. Public Speaking

Influencing people using just your words is a skill that can come in handy not just while giving your viva and college presentations, but will show its worth throughout your life, in both personal and professional aspects of your life. 

Hence, if you can master this skill, 50% of your work for an interview or assessment, later on, is already done.

3. Leadership

Leadership skills can be beneficial in all aspects of your career. Although you may not be a manager right away, graduates must demonstrate the ability to motivate teams and other colleagues who may work for them. 

It is all about properly assigning and delegating tasks, setting deadlines, and setting a good example.

Leadership allows you to motivate others to complete tasks, collaborate on common goals, and boost morale. Leadership skills are required at all levels, from entry-level to top management level. 

4. Teamwork

Teamwork is required for every job across the board. Even if it is construction work or a marketing job, teamwork is always essential for the smooth operation of any organization. 

You need proof that you are a team player while also being able to manage, delegate, and take on responsibility. It is all about fostering positive working relationships that enable everyone to achieve their personal and professional goals. 

And you should start working on it from the beginning. You can be a part of various activities during your college time, and try to lead them, as it will give you a practical experience of leading a team. 

5. Critical Thinking or Problem Solving

You need to be programmed to think a certain way in order to solve problems analytically. You must be able to solve problems and resolve issues using a logical and analytical approach.

It’s also a good way to demonstrate your ability to approach problems from various perspectives. 

6. Professionalism 

Professionalism refers to the high standard of behaviour expected of people who take their jobs seriously. It includes punctuality, politeness in the organization among many other habits and attitudes. 

Being a professional necessitates self-motivation and holding yourself accountable for your actions without the need for management oversight.

Professionalism is a necessary skill for anyone looking to advance in their career, regardless of their field of work.

7. Multitasking 

Many jobs necessitate employees multitasking and managing multiple responsibilities at the same time. Multitasking also demonstrates the ability to focus on one task while neglecting other responsibilities. 

This skill enhances your ability to take on new projects and assist others who are overwhelmed by their workload. People who can multitask effectively can foster teamwork and efficiency in any workplace.

8. Management

Coordination of your team’s efforts, delegating tasks and making plans to achieve goals are all examples of management skills. 

Because strong management has a significant impact on an organization’s success, it is one of the key skills that employers seek.

Your ability to manage people and projects can be applied to any field, particularly if you want to be a leader.

Those were some of the basic soft skills which you must. Now let’s take a look at some of the universal skills and hard skills which are required in almost every field. 

9. Familiarity with Microsoft Office

No matter where you work or which field you’re in, the MS Office Suite is one skill that will always serve you well. 

Any official work in most modern offices is performed on these portals—everything from bookkeeping to presentations, it all relies heavily on how well you can perform in these systems. 

Keep yourself updated with the latest changes in MS Office, as they’re going to make an impact on every piece of work that you do, for college or professionally. This is surely counted as of the most important skills recruiters look for.

10. Analytical Skill

Analytical skills are the ability to collect data, analyze it, decipher its meaning, and present it.

No matter what job you’re applying for, if you can demonstrate that you’re good with data analysis, the recruiter will give you extra points.

Research, forecasting, data mining, database management, resource management, data presentation, data & metrics interpreting, etc are few examples of some analytical skills. 

11. Digital Marketing

Learning digital marketing is not just an extracurricular course, but a skillset on the basis upon which you can build your entire career. 

Digital Marketing comes under the top 5 highest paying skills. Every company nowadays are operating their business through the use of various digital mediums. Hence, having a universal skill like digital marketing would be very beneficial for you. 

And one of the biggest benefits is that you can switch industries whenever you want—because every line of work requires digital marketing!

There are many digital marketing skills under digital marketing like, Social media marketing, SEO, email marketing, and many more which you can learn & build a niche in them as they are needed in every industry. 

Check This Out: Short-term certification courses in Digital Marketing 

How Can You Acquire These Skills? 

Those were the top 11 universal skills employers look for that an individual must have, for getting a job and these are the skills that a recruiter looks for in a candidate before hiring for a job. 

All the above skills are universal skills that are required in every industry irrespective of their types. 

Soft skills may not seem important as technical skills but they make a great impact in the workplace. 

And when we talk about the hard skills, as we have mentioned earlier digital marketing is the most common skill to have due to the shift of all industries towards digital and online mediums. 

Hence if you have relevant knowledge regarding digital marketing then it will definitely be a great value add-on to your resume. 

IIDE offers a 3-month Online Digital Marketing Course in India which is the #1 preferred course by all those looking to upskill themselves. IIDE’s industry-recognized certificates further help in adding credibility to your resume. 

Here are some ways in which you can develop the above-mentioned 11 skills: 

  • Never stop learning. Enrol in courses of your interest & keep gaining knowledge.
  • Go for challenging internships that push you to use your critical thinking skills and give creativity-based solutions. They also prepare you for multitasking & learning how to manage tasks and people.
  • For enhancing your soft skills like communication, leadership, teamwork, etc take part in various activities if you are in college & try communicating with different people
  • You can also give a shot to personality development courses.
  • Attend various masterclasses and seminars by industry experts and leaders to keep up with the latest trends in the biz world.
  • Put forth your opinions whenever you are a part of a group discussion. This helps in building confidence to speak publicly.
  • Professionalism is one skill that cannot be learnt. It has to do with your attitude & approach towards work. Always keep a dedicated attitude to even the smallest or the largest task. Always maintain a disciplined decorum when it comes to working. 

We hope the blog was informative. If you have any questions/views, do let us know in the comments section below.  We’d be happy to answer them for you. 

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Mamta Shroff

Head of Admissions & Institutional Relations at IIDE

She has been working with new trends in the Education industry for the last 2 decades. Starting her career as an Academic Counselor in the Middle East with Emirates College for Management & Information Technology......[Read full bio]

2 Comments

  1. Karan Sharma

    Hi Mamta!

    You missed one important skill – POSITIVE ATTITUDE…can be developed as well!

    Reply
    • Mamta Shroff

      Hey Karan! You’re right! It all comes down to a Positive Attitude and a Positive Mindset.

      Reply

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