The 8 most important professional skills

Do you know what we mean when we talk about professional skills? These are skills and abilities necessary to carry out a job effectively. These can be grouped into three categories or groups: basic, technical and transversal skills.

Within each group, although it is true that each field of work gives more importance to some skills or others, we do find skills that are more sought after than others in the business sector.

In this article we will learn what each of these three groups of competencies encompasses, and what are the 8 most important professional competencies in general.

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The 8 most important professional skills at work

Professional competencies are those skills, abilities and aptitudes that people have and that allow them to carry out a certain type of work successfully.

Professional skills, in addition, allow the individual to put their knowledge and skills into practice in the context of a work environment, and make employees more valued in their sector.

However, we must know that professional skills are classified into three groups: basic skills, technical skills and transversal skills. We are going to know, through this classification, the 8 most important professional skills within each group. We will also see examples of each of them:

1. basic skills

The core competencies are all those basic knowledge that allow a person to access a certain type of training or employment. This is the "minimum" that the person must have, in relation to certain knowledge, to be able to apply for training or work.

Examples of basic skills are: knowledge in the use of ICT, knowledge of a certain foreign language, etc.

Although there are many basic skills, we are going to see the most important (or the most valued by companies, in general):

1.1. Knowledge of foreign languages

This would be an example of basic competence, currently being one of the 8 most important professional competences, since nowadays work environments are increasingly international, and people of multiple nationalities and who speak multiple languages ​​can work in the same job.

So, nowadays, knowing more than one foreign language offers many points as a candidate for a certain job position (especially in qualified sectors).

1.2. Knowledge of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies)

In an increasingly technological and digitized work environment, knowledge of computers (at least a minimum knowledge) is increasingly essential. This is logically extrapolated to the selection processes in which we find ourselves immersed when looking for work.

Thus, this basic competition would imply knowing how to use a computer, the Internet, email, being able to create an online CV, sign up for job portals, etc.

2. Technical skills

Another of the 8 most important professional skills are technical skills (or hard skills), which are all those skills that are acquired as we train in a specific area.

These are specific skills of a job (or sector), that is, they are very different in one field and another. To understand it better, let's think of a person who has been trained in the kitchen; A technical competence that you must have, at the end of your cooking studies, is mastery of knives, or certain food cooking techniques, for example.

Technical skills are very specific to each field, so it is difficult to say which are the most important. Therefore, we have selected three of three different fields of work.

2.1. Marketing: web positioning

One of the most important professional skills, at a technical level, in the marketing sector is web positioning. This implies mastering SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques, and also having the knowledge to design and apply SEM (Search Engine Marketing) campaigns.

2.2. Psychology: administration of psychological tests

A highly sought after technical competence in the psychology sector is the one that involves knowing certain tests psychological (for example, a test to diagnose autism, such as the ADOS-2 or the ADI-R), as well as knowing apply them.

In order to administer certain psychological tests, there is specific training (and official certificates) in this regard.

23. Computer engineering: knowledge of programming languages

In the field of computer engineering (or programming), one of the 8 most important (and most sought after) professional skills, at a technical level, is the one that involves know different types of programming languages, such as: C++, PHP or Python. It is understood that we refer to: knowing, mastering and knowing how to use them.

3. Transversal competences

On the other hand, transversal competences are those personal characteristics that make a person adapt to a job and also perform it effectively. These types of skills used in the workplace (although also in others) allow you to transform knowledge into action, and are highly valued by companies, since they differentiate the professional within their sector.

Examples of transversal skills are: teamwork, initiative, facility for interpersonal relationships, effort, willingness to learn, versatility, etc.

The most important professional competences at a transversal level that appear in this article are the following: (although it should be noted that for each sector or job, there will be more important or necessary skills than others).

3.1. Capacity for teamwork

It consists of the ability (and willingness) that people have to Collaborate with a team in a coordinated way in carrying out a certain task or in the search for the achievement of an objective.

This ability can be really useful both in the work environment and in the academic or even personal.

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3.2. Initiative capacity

Initiative is another of the most important professional competencies at a transversal level, and it is an increasingly important capacity. increasingly valued by companies, since they generally look for people who want to contribute their ideas, entrepreneurs.

The initiative consists of the ability, or ability, to make contributions, propose ideas, and try new things. If, in addition, these ideas have the mission of improving the product or service, then we are already talking about innovation capacity (another transversal competence).

3.3. Conflict resolution capacity

The ability to resolve conflicts (or problems) implies being able to face the situations and give answers to them, through the application of a certain strategy or method resolute.

generally involves identify the problem, make a diagnosis, formulate solutions, put them into practice and evaluate the results. In this sense, companies are looking for professionals who know how to react and act effectively in the face of unforeseen events; in colloquial words, that they are capable of "getting their chestnuts out of the fire" at all times and in the face of possible obstacles.