What Employee Skills Do Employers Want Most?

All employees need specific skills to succeed in the workplace. Acquiring skills takes time, education, and dedication. Therefore, it’s important to focus on learning and perfecting the skills employers want most.

Learning how to operate a key punch machine from the 1960s and 1970s has no value in the 21st century. However, becoming very comfortable with contemporary hardware and software of modern personal computers is extremely valuable.

Knowing what skills and abilities employers want most gives you the best roadmap to career success. Here are the key skills that most employers state they want when evaluating prospective and current employees.

Most Desired Employee Skills

These skills are in no particular order of importance, and they are those that apply to most positions in all industries. Keep in mind that some industry-specific technical skills are also required for many positions.

• Multi-tasking skills, including flexibility and adaptability: Modern organizations are constantly evolving entities. Business cycles, both up and down, are short and dramatic. Employers want employees who can multi-task effectively and are flexible enough to accept interchangeable tasks.
• Communication skills: While effective communication remains critically important in every workplace setting, this ability has declined over the past two decades. Along with oral (verbal) ability, listening and written skills are equally important. Recent graduates often display serious shortcomings in business communication ability. Many believe the heavy use of e-mail and texting can impair the proper communication skills that are taught in educational settings.
• Interpersonal skills: This category is huge and could occupy its own separate article. At a minimum, employers want staff to relate well with co-workers. Those employees with the ability to inspire others and mediate workplace conflicts are in even higher demand. These skills, when combined with the personal traits of honesty, reliability, and consistency, label you as an extremely valuable employee.
• Computer skills: No longer a bonus skill that sets some employees apart from the multitudes, computer and technical ability is a “must have” for all staff. While word processing, spreadsheet, and e-mail remain the top priorities, those employees that master additional hardware issues and software options become even more valuable to employers.
• Analytical and research skills: Once the purview of technical staff, analytical ability is a top employer priority for all employees. The disturbing grip of the recession of 2007 to 2009 enhanced the importance of analyzing issues, researching problems, and implementing solutions. These are skills that all employers want, regardless of other job responsibilities.
• Planning and organizational skills: While planning, organizing, and strategizing remain top priorities for management staff, employers look for this ability in all current employees and potential new hires. Depending on the duties of certain employees, these skills can sometimes be difficult to recognize.
• Creativity and problem solving skills: While these skills may come naturally to some, they can be learned and are held in high regard. Valuable employees solve problems before involving management, which is a wonderful time-saver. Displaying creativity will help you stand out at the workplace, as this skill tends to be more public than some other abilities.
• Collaborative skills: Because tasks and projects are typically assigned to groups, the ability to be a team player is in high demand. The better your team skills, the more opportunities for raises and promotions will magically appear for you. Management often assumes that good team players become superior team leaders.
• Leadership skills: Always in demand, leadership skills are often the most important criteria for promotion to management. While take charge ability alone is insufficient, combining leadership skill with some or all of the other employer wish list talents can ensure serious consideration of your desire to join the management fraternity.

Understand that all employers also want job- and industry-specific skills that they usually identify in either job descriptions or notices of openings to be filled. They seek candidates with combinations of the skills noted above in addition to job-specific abilities.

Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses in these areas. Display your strengths whenever possible and remember to note these skills on your resume. Make a commitment to improve those priority skills that may fall into your weakness category. Promise yourself to take whatever action necessary to move weak skills into the strength category.

Should you decide to seek new employment using your own devices or a top search firm like Kelly Services, be sure to highlight some of these noted skills. You now know that most employers want these abilities. You should clearly demonstrate, in your resume and at interviews, that you possess these skills and use them regularly to perform well.