If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that the future is unpredictable. You may wake up one day and find that you no longer have a job or that your college degree is no longer relevant. While 2021 is a new year and has brought with it new successes, it has also brought new challenges. Many businesses closed shop in 2020, so more applicants are now competing for fewer positions.
According to the November 2020 Student Recruitment Survey, graduate recruitment has gone down by 12%, internships have reduced by 29%, and job placement has decreased by 25%. To help you beat the competition in 2021, we’ve drawn on our career expertise to give you tips that will help increase your job prospects. Here are 10 skills that will help you land a job this year.
Resilience
Resilience is good for your overall emotional and mental welfare. When you land your ‘first proper job,’ you’ll have huge challenges to deal with. This could be mistakes at work, trying to impress your boss, or relocating to a new area. While you will receive training–and many companies have stress management workshops–the challenges you face won’t have a powerful effect on you if you’ve already built inner resilience.
People who have more resilience have better problem-solving skills, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and adaptability. Recruiters are always looking for candidates with these qualities.
Job hunting itself requires a lot of resilience. Even when the economy is good, you won’t get offered the first job you apply for. You’ll get a few rejections, and only resilience and confidence in yourself will ensure that you continue to apply.
Problem-Solving Skills
Problem solving means using logic and your imagination to understand a problem and come up with an intelligent solution. Companies love problem-solvers because they bring a fresh perspective to the problems and challenges they face.
Some careers revolve around finding solutions–like engineering, scientific research, and technology. And even if you choose another career path, you’ll be expected to solve problems that arise in the course of your work. For example, if you’re a trainee manager, you’ll have to resolve conflicts between team members and deal with operational problems. And if you work in the finance sector, you may have to look at other auto loan pre-qualifications, not just the credit score.
Employers like people with good problem solving skills because it also shows they possess other vital skills–such as creativity, resilience, logic, imagination, determination, and lateral thinking .
Adaptability and Flexibility
All employers want flexible and adaptable employees. The two requirements may be explicitly stated on a job advert. For instance, the ad may say that the perfect candidate must be willing to relocate during the graduate programme or be willing to put in extra hours.
While all professionals can benefit from flexibility and adaptability, the two qualities are highly valued in some professions–such as investment banking, commercial law, management consulting, teaching, and healthcare.
When you demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in the workplace, you respond effectively to your working conditions even when things don’t go as planned. You also work well on your own and with team members.