Student Intranet - News

Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Making sure your resume highlights transferable skills that employers are looking for can help your application get noticed. In 2023 what do employers looks for beyond your expertise?

Prominent recruitment website Seek.com published an article highlighting the essential skills employers are looking for according to two leading recruitment experts.

They nominated resilience, confidence using technology, agility, being proactive, and emotional intelligence as five essential skills that you want to be showing in your resume or during a interview session.

Resilience

In their party tune 'Tubthumping' British band Chumbawamba sing "I get knocked down but I get up again" and that's a great motto for showing resilience. Working alongside David Guetta, Sia declared she was 'Titanium', while out front of Destiny's Child, Beyonce declared she was a 'Survivor'.

Employers are increasingly looking for evidence that new employees have fortitude, persistence and the ability to tackle challenges in different ways.

During job interviews look for opportunities to highlight ways you maintain an equilibrium between work and taking charge to recharge, and think of examples where you have tackled a problem in different ways.

Confidence in Using Technology

Not long ago employers would ask if a potential employee was confident in using the Microsoft Office suite of products. With the rise of cloud computing and online applications there's many new products workplaces are using everyday.

From planning on Trello, to conducing meetings through Zoom, logging into Canva for some graphic design or getting a transcription via Otter. There is an ever growing number of technological products in the workplace.

Look over your resume and see if you've included evidence that you have used a range of technology and quickly learned how to use new online tools and technologies.

Agility

In most job roles new challenges come up on a daily basis, and many workplaces now see people often working across multiple teams. The skill of effectively adapting new constantly changing demands is one employers are looking out for.

Being able to quickly learn new skills and master different systems is a sought after attribute.

Stand out from the crowd by looking for examples of when you've studied off-campus, quickly learned new skills, or stepped into a world you were not so familiar with, and times you have learned extra skills.

Being Proactive

In the best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, 'Be Proactive' is the first principle he recommends you master. It suggests being proactive is not just thinking about what your next task is, but also having a positive attitude and being intrinsically motivated.

Ahead of a job interview think of a time when you have taken the lead and been proactive.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is defined as  the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathise with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.

In workplaces where electronic communication through emails, video chats, and messaging apps is becoming increasingly common there's a growing need for staff to show they can detect how other people are reacting and feeling.

Daniel Goleman, who published a groundbreaking book on the subject 25 years ago, contributed an article to the Harvard Business Review where he shared an updated view on what factors make up a person's emotional intelligence. The team at Mindtools have made a great video that explains emotional intelligence.

Showing your emotional intelligence by recalling a time when you've worked with a variety of people with different personalities and how you've successful made a connection with them.

Log on to Careerhub to find tools to help your employability

Contact ECU’s Careers team on 08 6304 5899, email careers@ecu.edu.au today or take a look at the resources and tips available on the Get Career Ready page.