by Tony Jacowski What Employers Want...
Awareness of employer's expectations is essential to finding a job. Older job-hunting techniques focused on "you",
the person. It laid emphasis on your work history, accomplishments, academic background and other credentials.
It focused on your qualifications and objectives as well. But that has changed and today, employers expect you
to know what their needs are and tell them how you can complement the organization.
Energy
Displaying the right energy and initiative is very important. Energetic people are credited with enthusiasm,
vigor and drive and that is exactly what employers want. Most jobs require you to be proactive. Employers can
easily evaluate this ability, almost as soon as the candidate enters the room. If you are not an energetic person,
you should practice ways to look and act accordingly, in order to make a good first impression. It can make a huge
difference; most of the time, job opportunities are won or lost on approach and preparation.
Specific Skills
Every job involves a set of specific skills and education or training, with the required background and experience.
Most often, these skill sets are mentioned in the advertisement. If, however, they are not mentioned specifically,
find out about the company and its hierarchical structure. This will help you to prepare to present specific
abilities and initiative, creating a positive impact on the employer. Your primary concern, once you have the
list of required skills, should be to present evidence that you have those skills.
This could involve your academic qualifications, projects and achievements. In addition, you need to
project the capability to meet job responsibilities, work experience, voluntary activities and tasks
in personnel management. The key is to try to match your skills and capability to the specific requirement
of the employer. Highlight the relevant areas, since recruiters usually do not have a lot of time on hand
and have to deal with a number of applications. They show interest only in particular skill sets that are
required by the organizations that they represent. Make these skill sets noticeable. Precision and brevity
are important too, but it is also important to highlight the skills you possess and how you can be an asset
to the firm.
Transferable Skills
There are particular skills that most employers look for that have nothing to do with the competencies required
for the particular job. These skills indicate the development potential and not the knowledge level. These
so-called transferable skills include communication, teamwork, leadership, initiative, problem solving,
adaptability, motivation and numerical skills. In addition to this, private sector companies prefer the
candidate to have some idea of how the firm operates, current business news and trends and their impact
on the organization. The courses completed, work experience and hobbies are of value as well. Be ready to
answer clearly if asked at the interview as to how your education has prepared you for a specific job.
You should be prepared with a good and precise answer. It is important to plan in advance.
By applying the steps above, you will be well on your way to giving employers what they want and conducting
a highly successful job search.
Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers
online six sigma training and certification classes for lean
six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.