What skills do employers need from their incoming workforce in 2021?

The Pandemic has rapidly changed the world we live in. We all knew that change was imminent and how businesses work, and how people go about their daily lives had been slowly evolving over the years. But the Pandemic has accelerated this at an unprecedented pace and now we find ourselves living in a more virtual world. As employees, we need to make sure that we are looking at the skills we have, the skills we need, and how these will apply to our future careers.

What skills do you have?

Firstly, you need to examine the skills you have. Qualifications, experience, and knowledge are all still important skills, but as businesses have adapted, we need to examine how these skills are transferable to the world we live and work in today and whether they are the most important skills employers want. Professional qualifications are still required across many roles, but where more traditional roles have changed, can you apply the professional skills you have to another role?

What skills will be important in a post-pandemic world?

Big question – hard answer. Primarily because no one knows where the pandemic will take us as we are still on this rollercoaster journey. But, reflecting on the past 18 months, it is evident that we now live in a more ‘virtual’ world where we have adapted to working, socialising, and living ‘online’, and there are elements of this that will be here to stay.

Whilst workers have had to show adaptability, flexibility and versatility in their work during the pandemic, these skills will remain vital to businesses in order to move forward. But whilst we have applied these skills to the way we work, we now need to apply them to how we help businesses flourish and succeed in what will undoubtedly become a more competitive and challenging market.

Here are the skills we believe employers are looking for in their future candidates:

Creativity: In an ever-changing and increasingly competitive world, being able to demonstrate that you can ‘think outside the box’ is becoming more and more important. Demonstrating your creative skills and how you have applied them to your past roles is vital when it comes to looking for a new role.

Communication: This is one of the most highly sought-after skills by employers. Being able to communicate information to all people, at all levels is an essential life skill. Whether it is written or verbal, how you deliver information is essential if you are to have a positive impact on business. Effective communication will improve the quality of the work delivered, productivity and team cohesion.

Problem-solving: Employers are always looking for people who seek to solve problems; applying logic and imagination to understand what the problem is and how it arose and developing a solution that will work. Employers see workers with strong problem-solving skills as having a skill set that sits behind it that demonstrates creativity, resilience, imagination, lateral thinking, and determination. Problem-solving skills have historically been associated with more senior positions. Today, this is an essential skill at all levels – how you deal with a small problem can demonstrate your ability to cope with more complex issues which in turn may help you progress further in your career.

Decision making: Having the skills to assess a situation, consider potential outcomes and make a conclusive decision is a critical skill for modern-day businesses. Applying critical thinking skills to come up with a solution is part of everyday human activity; often we do it without even thinking about it. In business, these problems may come in all guises, but looking for solutions rather than bemoaning the problem is a skill that business leaders need to have and want to look for in their teams.

Emotional Intelligence: Understanding your own emotions and the emotions of those around you are more valuable than ever before. Taking care of our own mental wellbeing and the emotional welfare of those around us creates empathy with others which makes us valuable team members and successful leaders. Being able to empathise with your co-workers means that you will improve both communication and problem-solving skills leading to better relationships and improved productivity.

Understanding the skills you have, how they can be applied to a potential job role and what you need to develop to be successful in a post-pandemic world is a skill all in itself. If you would like help or advice about how you can demonstrate your skillset to potential employers, speak to our team today.