As companies strive to reinvent themselves for profitability post pandemic, finding the right employees who can execute that vision will be more important than ever. And with unemployment figures skyrocketing globally, the competition is steep. Demonstrating these 5 in-demand job skills to potential employers will be essential in helping you stand out among other candidates post-pandemic.
Adaptability & Agility
This is a big one. Your ability to be flexible and adaptable will be essential to your success in the workforce after Covid-19. Nearly every company worldwide has had to change their way of working, and quickly adjust to a new set of realities. For many employers this has also meant that they could quickly assess who on their current team has the skills to not only keep up but thrive in the midst of so much change. It has not been uncommon that even tenured employees have been furloughed or laid off to make room for new talent with the necessary dexterity to help the company survive and grow.
Adaptability is essential to a firm’s long-term resiliency and success. This skill will be especially coveted after the lessons learned in Covid-19.
If you want to stand out in your interview, demonstrate how you have been able to quickly adapt to change in the workplace and how you have translated this into creative ideas, problem solving, and agility in your profession.
Technology Savvy
It’s no secret that your digital proficiency and ability to learn new systems will be critical to success in your future career. The world was already moving toward a more tech-driven workplace, but with whole companies going remote for extended lengths of time during Covid-19, this trajectory was significantly accelerated.
It is not enough anymore to simply be good at your core job function – you must now also embrace and understand the technology that will play a vital role in your day to day responsibilities. This is everything from zoom calls, to new CRM software, to expanded data driven metrics to assess your performance from a distance.
Take every opportunity to learn and embrace new technology. It is not only how you will do your job, but how your success will be measured.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence, in practical terms, is your ability to be aware of and in control of your own emotions, and also how to understand and appropriately respond to the emotions of others. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) has long since been a coveted skill, especially in senior roles. In our current world where stresses are heightened, companies are in flux, and employees are often feeling anxious, firms need leaders who can connect on a deeper level with their team and manage with empathy.
In times of uncertainty, there is a heightened need to understand the emotional roller-coaster of both your own experience and that of your staff or peers. The greater your awareness, the greater your ability to navigate difficult change and maintain a growth mindset. And now with all of this happening virtually, leaders who have an innate or practiced ability to forge deeper connection with and among their teams will be in high demand.
Critical Thinking
The ability to evaluate the information provided and make an informed decision has always been a desirable skill in the workplace. Now with the professional landscape and future of so many companies changing daily, more than ever, firms need people who can quickly analyse the changing input and move forward thoughtfully.
A defining factor that delineates a leader is their ability to make a decision. Demonstrate how you take the information around you to not only make decisions, but make good ones. This will be especially valuable to your next employer.
Creativity & Innovation
Retailers pivoted their business to be on-line, hotels found new guests in first responders and travelling nurses when all business travel was put on hold, companies who have survived the first half of 2020 have not done so by standing still. They are thinking outside the box and shifting their business models to respond to the changes in the marketplace. Creativity and innovation will be defining facets of successful companies post-pandemic, and employers are looking for the imaginative minds to help drive that forward.
How have you been additive to innovation in your past roles? Have you turned a downward revenue stream into a new idea or product? Did you step up to the challenges of a lost customer or depressed economy and drive success in a different way?
Demonstrate your ability to be creative and solution oriented to your next employer; it will be an increasingly sought-after skill in the workplace moving forward.
The task at hand is daunting for both employers and candidates navigating the workplace post-pandemic. By aligning your experience and skills to the priorities of your prospective employer, you are more likely to stand out from the masses. Harness your talents to highlight your agility, digital aptitude, emotional intelligence, ability to make good decisions, and creativity. These are what employers are looking for in the future of their companies.