The SMP Solutions Guide to What Employers Want

In today’s fast moving world of constant change, employers are generally looking for a number of key competencies and arguably the more you can prove and display the more marketable you become.

However, the key competencies are not always what you expect and depending on the organisation and sector, not always made obvious in the recruitment process.

Your understanding and awareness of the typical competencies required by the majority of employers can play an important part and put you ahead of the pack when it comes to moving up the career ladder or applying for new jobs.

Willingness to learn – nothing stands still in today’s workplace, so willingness to learn and continue to learn is paramount.

Initiative – with flatter management structures, the ability to show initiative at all levels of organisations is key. If you do this with regular success then arguably you cannot fail to get noticed!

Customer service orientation – who are your customers? These days almost everyone both internally within your organisation and externally, who you come into contact with can be customers. Your customer focus, understanding the needs of your customers and how well you interact with people at all levels both internally and externally can play a big part in your career progression.

Achievement orientation – it doesn’t matter what sector you work in and to a large extent, what role you play, employers are looking for staff who have an eye on the goal and who deliver.

Teamwork/ co-operation – being able to work successfully as part of a team or multiple teams, is crucial to business success today. Even if you work largely autonomously, the ability to slot into a team at any given time and team co-operation time is key.

Flexibility – as nothing stands still in business today, you tend to find that the most successful people are those that show great flexibility and adaptability and change job roles as required by the organisation (maybe between working as part of a team or autonomously) depending on the business priorities or projects, whilst continually learning and developing skills in the process.

Communication – is key is usually the phrase! However, in this technological age, if you can communicate effectively at all levels of an organisation through both verbal and written means, also internally and externally, then you are likely to be ahead of the pack.

Analytical thinking – although we live in a fast moving world, if you have the ability to step back and consider options, especially before making important decisions, this is a key skill. It is often not the first idea that is the best!

Information seeking – research plays a big part in most of our lives now, particularly via the internet. The ability to quickly find, collate and present information in an easy to understand fashion plays an ever increasing role in most job roles

Computer literacy – this is now a given in the majority of jobs. However there is a huge difference between basic computer literacy and being highly proficient. If your computer skills are such that it enables you to be more effective in your role and add value to the organisation then shout about it!

Conceptual thinking – This is becoming increasingly important in the workplace, which may reflect the need for ‘ideas people’ who can think ‘outside the box’ and see the bigger picture.

Relationship building - dovetailing with the important abilities of being flexible, working in a team and customer service orientation, this is becoming an ever more important key skill in the majority of organisations.

To sum up

Employers are looking for well-rounded people with a balance of skills. Every job requires specific skills but there is also a range of personal skills and qualities relevant to many different jobs. You need to offer future employers both.

Except for very specific roles, technical brilliance alone won’t get you far in the modern workplace!

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