The main skills needed to find a first job

Entering the labor market is a moment as important as it is complex; this moment in which you have to find a job without having previous experience is characterized by the emergence of a large number of doubts, uncertainties and fears of all kinds. And to this we must add a context in which fairly rapid economic, social and technological changes take place and competitiveness prevails.

Although in the first instance it can be an arduous and complex process for some people, the truth is that there are some basic skills that we must take into account and that most employers look for to hire new employees. A good part of them are what are known as “soft skills”: aptitudes that can be learned and internalized, but not from the simple memorization of topics or formal attendance at classes, but through a combination of theoretical learning and practical.

It may be that some of these skills are incorporated into our daily lives; nevertheless, others may need to be worked or trained in order to increase the chances of being hired by a company.

• Related article: "The 6 pillars of Human Resources"

What are the skills that need to be developed to find a first job?

Below we present a summary of the main skills that we must have and enhance to find a first job more easily.

1. emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability that human beings have to understand emotions and manage the expression of states emotions to communicate successfully with the people around us and not to fall into self-sabotage dynamics. It helps us to recognize our own and others' emotions and to modulate them, adapting in real time to the situation in which we find ourselves..

It is a skill that most of us develop especially throughout our childhood and adolescence, but that we can continue training, and it is considered one of the main "soft skills" or soft skills that most companies demand in their employees.

Emotional intelligence allows us to identify the needs of both colleagues and superiors at all times and It also helps to transmit in an intelligible way information about the tasks to be carried out, the company, or the needs of all Type.

• You may be interested: "Why is Emotional Intelligence important at work?"

2. Teamwork

Teamwork is another of the most demanded "soft skills" in the current labor market, since in the business world more and more projects are carried out in groups or teams.

The main teamwork sub-competencies that a prepared employee must have are making the right decisions, taking into account that achieving goals as a team is a cooperative process, assertiveness or respectful communication of one's own criteria, active listening, complex problem solving and communication skills.

All these skills together are necessary to work diligently in a team and make up the range of skills of a competent employee.

• Related article: "Psychology of work and organizations: a profession with a future"

3. mental flexibility

Flexibility is the employee's ability to adapt to new or adverse situations, going beyond the schemes that we habitually use in a given context, in this case with the aim of connecting with the way of thinking of the the rest. It is something very useful both in jobs where you have to lead, and in jobs facing the public, because customers and consumers tend to think about what we offer them in a very different way than we do, who spend several hours a week thinking about it and are also emotionally involved in our goals of productivity.

This flexibility can be both hourly and show the ability to adopt new ways of working, both individually or as a team, in the face of new, critical or problematic situations.

4. goal orientation

Knowing how to understand what the short, medium and long term goals are It is essential to connect with a job and achieve stability in it or even have the possibility of climbing within a company. Companies tend to discard profiles that are not clear about what they want or what is expected of them.

5. Resilience

Resilience is a competence that is also part of soft skills and is defined as the ability to adapt to adverse situations by learning from what happened, and above all from mistakes, but without letting guilt paralyze us. It helps to leave reinforced in the face of bad experiences or critical situations.

Resilient people learn from everything that happens to them in life, also from the bad, instead of try not to think about it or obsess over those memories and get into a dynamic of self-loathing That is why it is so important to have this competence both in the workplace and in the personal sphere.

• You may be interested: "Resilience: definition and 10 habits to enhance it"

6. digital communication

Digital communication is essential in most companies and organizations of all kinds. It includes both the ability to express oneself in a synthetic and orderly manner through speech and in writing, on the one hand, and the ability to use new technologies to do so, on the other. It is one of the most visible characteristics in a candidacy through a resume and motivation letter.

That is why an applicant to opt for any job must have a command of tools such as messaging systems on digital platforms of all kinds. It consists of understanding the logic in which ICTs operate, at least at a basic level, knowing how to predict and understand how most computer program interfaces work even if we have little or no experience with those specific ones.

In addition to that, it should be noted that many recruiters conduct their searches on social networks and other type of platforms, identifying profiles that are capable of communicating their ideas effectively in the medium digital.

7. engagement development

Commitment to the workplace and to the company we work with is also essential for any worker self-respecting, and this is based on concentration when working, attention, being productive and being motivated.

It's based on the ability to work honestly and knowing how to convey that honesty oriented to medium and long-term goals that benefit both us and the company. And it is from this competition that organizations have incentives to invest time and resources in internal training of your staff, to help them make the most of their talents and interests and promote by climbing posts.

Commitment also means adhering from the first day to the interests or corporate objectives of our company. and be loyal to it at all times, committing ourselves to giving the best performance at all times in the place of worked.

8. Autonomous Learning

Finally, another of the key skills necessary to find the first job is the fact of showing a capacity for constant and independent learning.

This means show ourselves available to learn new knowledge and train ourselves in various areas of knowledge, whether in the field of technology, programming or in the field of formal learning.

• Related article: "The 13 types of learning: what are they?"

Do you want to know the soft skills from the perspective of the candidates and the companies?

If you want to understand soft skills and their implications for jobs while specializing professionally in Human Resources, you may be interested in the University Master's Degree in Talent Selection and Management offered by the University of Malaga. It is a one-year training program that consists of three main blocks: Talent Selection; Training, Personal and Organizational Development; and Internships, which can be carried out in several of the most important companies that operate in the Spanish territory. If you want to know more, go to this page.