7 key skills determine who wins job

Whether you wear a hat of a manager or worker-bee, most of you reading this work in some capacity as an employee for a business.

When you consider your career path, you may be interested in advancing up the ranks within your present company or looking for a career move elsewhere. If you are to succeed in your quest, you need to know what is being sought when the right position opens.

Most announced positions have a job description. However, the people who succeed in winning these jobs usually know something the losers don't-they know what the decision-makers are really looking for.

Recently the American Socity for Training and Development (a national association of human resource professionals and trainers headquartered in Virgina) completed a two-year research project in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Company executives were asked the following key question: What specific skills are you looking for in your employees?

The answers were particularly revealing.

In addition to the basic academic skills, researchers found it was the additional skills employers wanted to see the candidates exhibit that really determined who got the job.

According to the results of the research project, there are seven key skills that employers use to differentiate who wins the job.

1. A person who can perfect the skills required for the specific job. Employers are not just looking for a smart person; they want someone who has learned how to learn.

2. An employee who can communicate effectively. This means the employee must demonstrate both speaking and listening skills.

3. An employee who is a creative thinker, able to do active problem solving on the job.

4. Employees who take price in themselves both as a person and also in their individual potential to succeed. In other words, they are looking for people with high self-esteem.

5. An employee who is driven to accomplish the task at hand and get things done within the defined parameters (time, cost, resources, etc.) This involves goal setting and motivation.

6. An employee who understands the importance of teamwork and negotiation. In case you hadn't noticed, the workplace has changed, and empowered employee teams have become the norm. Within this environment, negotiating skills are needed to clearly define individual responsibilities.

7. Given all of the above, an employee is needed who can assume responsibility and effectively motivate co-workers. If you can effectively demonstrate these skills, and if you can ensure that your interview will focus on your abilities in these key areas, you could have a strong shot at that dream position when it comes along.

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