7 Essential Employability Skills

1.) Positive Attitude Having a positive attitude is like showing up to your team’s game ready to give it your best, excited and ready to go even if the chances of winning are low and it’s going to be hard work. Employers want to hire people that are happy to be at work. Think about that person you know who is always in a bad mood. Do you really enjoy being around them? A negative attitude can be seen as a cancer to a corporation. Does this mean you have to be happy all the time? NO  but it does mean that you should try and find even a little ounce of positive in a negative situation.

2.) Communication You have good communication skills if you can listen well, you don’t swear at work or have a bad attitude, you can ask for what you want clearly and you’re not afraid to ask if you don’t understand something. This includes using language appropriate for the job. This does not only mean talking: Emails Social Media Texts Grammar and spelling are important! Nonverbal communication: 70% of communication One of the biggest fears in the world is public speaking, but it is an essential part of being part of the work force. 3 Types of Communication

3.) Teamwork Teamwork is just like when you’re playing a sport or performing in your band. You help each other to get what you want, you make sure you do your part, you get on with everyone and you respect your coach or manager. You’re not always going to like your team, but you are joined together to accomplish a specific goal/task. This means putting your feelings aside for the greater good of the job/task. Stay professional! Take on different roles: leader, note taker, time keeper, presenter Teamwork

4.) Self-Management When you manage yourself, you are in control of what you do and say in a way that doesn’t harm yourself or others. You show up to school or work on time, dressed for success, and ready to make the best of the day. Self-management is always noticed in the workplace. Then people know that they can rely on you to complete a job/task. This is how you show your hard work and dedication which leads to: promotions More $$$$$ Better work environment Healthy state of mind

5.) Willingness to Learn Willingness to learn is showing that you’re happy to learn new things and what you need to know to do your job. It also means that when, for example, your coach says that you need to work on your passes, or your English teacher says you need to improve your sentence varitations, you don’t get too upset, but take it calmly and try hard to do better. We are all life long learners Key to success: listening The more you learn, the better you will be at your job, and the more skills you will learn to help you work toward your eventual career goals. Those who do not learn either get fired or are stuck doing the same thing forever.

6.) Thinking Skills (Problem Solving and Decision Making) Using thinking skills means that if you see a problem, you don’t wait for someone else, you find a way to fix it. When you make a decision, such as what to do when you leave school, you think carefully about all your choices and ask for advice. Also known as critical thinking skills Can you think on your feet and make smart/informed decisions? Are you always looking for others to solve your problems? Or do you seek to solve them yourself? Biggest difference between a “skilled” and an “unskilled” worker News Flash! There are far too many unskilled workers

7.) Resilience Maybe you’ve worked really hard on that paper for English, still got a “D” and feel like giving up? Or your family moves to a new town, away from your friends? Resilience is accepting that life does get hard at times and does change. It’s about being able to change, ask for help and keep going.  Are you going to crack under pressure? Can you be relied on when the going gets tough? Number one thing employers are going to test young (under 30) employees on. Yes! It is a test They want to see if you can handle the tougher parts of the job What is resilience?

How Do I Get These Skills? You will have many of these skills already. The good news is that these skills can be learned in daily life. You can develop employability skills by: doing work experience or volunteer work playing sports or doing music and performing arts helping your family taking part in a hobby or interest taking part in school activities such as debating, or SGA, RHO KAPPA, NHS taking part in community activities such as environmental causes or fundraising working steadily at school.

What Happens When You Possess All These Traits? You are seen as a hard worker, who is dedicated to the company and the job. These traits help you get: Raises Promotions Keep you from getting fired (duh) Open doors for other opportunities (don’t forget you may want these people to be a reference for a future job)

On Your Piece of Computer Paper Pick The Employability Skill that you think is the most important. Write the word nice and big in the middle of your paper and put a cloud around it (see example on board). Around your word write what the word means to you: how can you show it? Why is this word important in your current job or school life? What can you improve on when it comes to this word? When done, find a partner (either someone with the same word or a different word) and share with them what that word means to you. If they wrote something you didn’t add it to your paper If you have something to add to your partners paper, add it. THIS IS YOUR FIRST GRADE OF THE QUARTER 