Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Top 5 Attributes You Need to Have to Land Your Dream Job


By Karl Malinowski
With the economy in its current state, recent graduates and those trying to transition to a different job are having a difficult time. The easy days are long gone and in order to land that dream job, applicants need to have the right skill set to have a chance at their dream job. While having a great resume certainly helps, it no longer guarantees employment. In fact, there are a number of attributes applicants need to have in order to even be considered!

Writing Skills

Remember those essays you had to write in college that you thought were a complete waste of time? Well, turns out that they actually had a purpose. Today, employers are looking for employees that can write intelligently, and for different audiences and purposes. Also, if a person can put their thoughts down on paper in an intelligible and engaging manner, chances are their oral communication is great as well. No employer wants their employees sending out emails to potential clients that are riddled with grammatical errors. The best way to show off your written communication skills is by submitting a cover letter and resume that is not only well thought out, but also grammatically perfect and representative of an overall articulate person.

Communication Skills
With technology having an ever-increasing role in everyday life and in business, communication skills are more important than ever. Today, people too often rely on text messages, emails, and other impersonal means of communication. Because of this, the so-called 'people skills' are quickly disappearing. An applicant who can come into an interview and demonstrate their ability to communication in a clear and concise manner in the face of many different levels of management, while still showing their personality and enthusiasm, will be several steps in front of the rest of the applicants. Employers pay big bucks to train employees on how to speak publicly and to interact professionally with clients. If they know they won't have to shell out that kind of time and money to train you, it could be enough to land you the job.

Leadership Skills
Regardless of the role in question, every employer wants to hire a leader. However, a leader doesn't simply mean that you take charge of everything all the time. Being a leader in today's world means knowing when to step up and when to step back. It means knowing when to admit that your plate is too full and knowing when it is time to let other individuals take over. These are the type of attributes employers want to see. They want to see that an applicant has volunteered on a regular basis and that they are involved in the community. These types of activities help to show what type of natural leader you truly are, one that is able to take initiative when the need calls for it.

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