A serial entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in Technology Leadership, Narayan Mahadevan is the Founder of IP driven Incubation Lab, BridgeLabz. An AWS recognised company, BridgeLabz focuses on increasing employability and nurturing ideas as well as talents in the Emerging technologies domain. Narayan oversees the overall operations and functions at the company.
Only being qualified or having a great job application does not guarantee a job. Two equally qualified candidates are interviewed for the same position, but only one gets hired. Why? Because one always has the edge over the other. An interview is undoubtedly a crucial part of the job-hunting process. However, the pandemic has changed the entire hiring and promotion structure. Thinking and working differently according to the rapidly evolving demands of the industry is the need of the hour.
The professional skills, technical knowledge, and experience that you gain from your education and formal training can help you crack any interview. But another important thing that hiring managers pay specific attention to is soft skills. So, it’s time to get serious about it.
2022, the year of upscaling soft skills
Learning new skills always keeps you competitive and employable in the job market. It opens up new opportunities and promises a rewarding career. Most jobs are demanding, highly-competitive, so it is strongly recommended to upgrade the skills to keep up with the pace. To put it simply, it is a fundamental need in today’s digital work environment. This article will give you a clear idea of what soft skills you need to brush up on before your next job interview.
Communication skills
Be it any job profile, having the ability to connect and express your views makes you a winner. Effective communication is the key to maintaining a robust and long-term work relationship with your colleagues. If we talk about the remote, digital work environment, the communication methods have rigorously changed, demanding more clarity and transparency. How well a resource can connect with managers, superiors, and other co-workers is crucial. To meet the performance goals and enhance your productivity, upscaling your communication skills should be the core goal of your strategy. For instance, if an architect cannot understand his clients, he cannot deliver their dream house project. Similar is the case of an engineer who wants to do more business with a compelling web application idea.
Interpersonal skills
Problem-solving, attitude, work ethic, teamwork, and networking are not just soft skills but essential skills to secure any job. The future of hiring depends upon them. For a successful career, you need much more than the specific technical expertise of your domain. If you get a chance to describe your interpersonal skills during your job interview, you can highlight your problem-solving abilities from your previous work experience. You can talk about how you overcame the challenges/maintained clear communication with the team, and managed deliverables under stringent deadlines. This will give the employer a clear idea about your leadership and time-management skills.
Self-learning & self-awareness
If you value the concept of learning, you will realize its importance in your overall growth. Keeping yourself updated with the new trends not only gives you confidence, but you adapt to newer technologies quickly. In the process of constant learning, you get to know about your strengths and weaknesses and can work towards improving them. Realizing the areas of improvement can lead you to get proper training and the right mentorship. For instance, a developer must stay updated with all the new evolving technologies, and upskilling plays a pertinent role here. It becomes easier to grasp new concepts, which further helps them acquire new clientele or business.
Resilience
Stay committed to your choices and keep an attitude of accountability rather than escaping from the situations. Making mistakes is okay but taking ownership is more important. Once you take ownership, you strive towards achieving excellence, which makes you the jack of the trade. Learn from your hard experiences and stay willing to take up new challenges. The highly resilient people avoid missing out on their work and have more job satisfaction than those who are impulsive. It’s a hard-earned skill, and you need to put a lot of effort into achieving this. The organizations are also training their workforce to learn this skill to maintain employee satisfaction and a healthy work environment.
Summing up
Upskilling helps you in future-proofing, and it’s nothing less than a journey. Learning a new skill requires focus, patience, hard work, and dedication. So, it’s important to note the skills which you want to focus on to open new opportunities for your future self. Learn them, and it will surely bring value to your career growth and the company you are associated with.