Besides Skills, What Do You Need To Get The Job? February 20, 2017My CareerOff

There’s no doubt about it, the various experiences and skills you fill your resume with are going to matter. From hard skills like accounting and tech skills to the softer kind like time management and good teamwork. But these are the signs of a competent employee. You want to shine out beyond that. You want to look like an employee that your potential workplace can’t ignore. Here’s what you need to stand out even more.

The mien. First impressions and appearances count for a lot in business. It might sound shallow, but it shows an awareness of professional conduct that means people can at least trust that you’re not going to be showing the business up. It also shows a respect for the rules that assures employees that you’re not going to be a force that is negatively disruptive to the business. Finally, it shows a confidence in your abilities that you’re able to hold yourself up to certain standards. The appropriate dress, the appropriate language, and the appropriate body language can all help you create the mien of a true professional on that first impression.

The qualifications. Skills are one thing. Showing experience working with certain hard skills is going to more than enough proof that you can do your job. But if you want to look more than competent, if you want to look like an expert, then you need to focus on finding expert qualifications. For instance, an accountant who has passed their CPA review courses and shows off that certification will have more chance of being employed than a non-certified accountant, even if they’re not doing the tasks they can only do with certifications. When it comes to your qualifications, you shouldn’t wait for later in your career to earn them. You should make yourself thoroughly career ready. It shows employers that you’re very serious about your chosen field.

The market awareness. Finally, business owners like to see that employees have a bit of understanding beyond their own duties. If you have an ability to understand the business aims and strategies, you can more engaged and a lot more useful to them. Having that business sense means understanding how your role works in tandem with others and how the best decisions for the business might occasionally mean dealing with unintended consequences on your end. Being able to think about things like rate of return, productivity models, the industry market and the like show an employee who is more than just someone to fit a role. They are a team member with a lot of insight and expertise to offer.

The qualities mentioned above all lend to one image: that you are an out-of-the-box professional ready to lend real value to your employer. Develop those qualities and look more forward-thinking by getting broader in how you look for a job. Network and go directly to employers to ask if they have positions open instead of waiting for them in the job listings. That’s how you look like someone truly ready to work.

Photo by Biker in London | Shutterstock

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