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Thursday, July 29, 2010

7 Needed Work Skills in a Recovering Economy

By : Melissa Rubin

In today's world of multiple degrees, people have become extremely focused in one field. With a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in the relationship between the media and politics, your knowledge base gets so precise it's hard to broaden your job search. However, there are skills that have been highlighted during this time of a recession that can help people not only get, but keep, their jobs.

Despite the slow recovery of the economy, there are good jobs emerging for people who have the right attitude and the right qualifications. Even if your degree isn't in a job that sounds perfect for you, apply and highlight these 7 skills during the interview process.

Agility

As companies are starting to rebuild from firing whole departments of people during the recession, they are looking for people who can fill those vacant spots as well as people who could multi-task and have the ability to move to different positions. Some companies are also looking for more part-time and temporary positions; ones they can downsize without the drama and expense of a major layoff. This means that work will become less predictable and have more turnovers along with incorporating different disciplines into one position.

Those people who are able to adapt and become agile in the workplace in temporary positions turn out in the long run to be attractive potential full-time employees.

Skill Combos

Here's where the multiple degrees might hurt you; when you're totally focused on one section of one topic, you're limited as to what kinds of jobs are available to you. Highlighting two or three set skills during your interview and on your resume will pull you on top of the interviewee pile. A 2009 study by consulting firm McKinsey found that the highest earners with the best overall prospects have a combination of valuable skills. Keep in mind, the more you can bring to the table, the more reasons a company has to hire you.

Tacit Skills

Companies have developed a value system that highlights intangible qualities that are hard to put on a resume. These include things like informed intuition, judgment under pressure, ease with clients, problem-solving abilities, etc. These "tacit" skills tend to come with experience, but they also develop when people are actively trying to seek additional responsibility, volunteer for tough assignments, and are willing to take risks. Showing these types of skills and qualities to a potential employer is easy; make sure your list of references can attest to your tacit skill set and have specific examples of how those skills were used.

Broad Vision

You might be missing out on the perfect internship or career simply because you aren't looking for it! Most people are continuously looking in the field they have the most experience with, but with companies downsizing in many industries; you might be fighting a losing battle. Instead of focusing on the job or title you want, focus on your skills and explore whether you can apply them in a different field.

Analytics

Chances are that no matter what field you chose, there will be new data-gathering tools to help assess performance and identify opportunities available to employees. Being knowledgeable about your own performance gives you the opportunity to improve upon it!

Curiosity

Being curious about other fields of study or work can help open doors not readily available to you. If you have a background in print marketing but have an interest in learning more about online marketing, showing that curiosity and interest will show future employers that you are willing to research and learn new things on your own.

Self-reliance

Developing more technical skills instead of relying on others, making lots of backup plans, and building a big cushion in case something goes wrong are key skills to have for self-reliance. In a recovering economy corporate America is not as sound a concept as it was 10 years ago. Being open to change and knowing you have the ability to take whatever comes at you is an attractive asset to companies and employers.

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