Personal And Interactive Attributes.

PERSONAL AND INTERACTIVE ATTRIBUTES.

What skills and attributes do employers want?

The possession of a range of skills and personal and interactive attributes are at least as important, if not more important, to employers than the possession of qualifications.

Will I need the same attributes irrespective of job type?

There are innumerable studies that have shown that a set of ‘transferable skills’ or ‘competencies’ including communication, team working, problem-solving, leadership, numeracy, self-confidence, willingness to learn and flexibility, are widely required by employers generally. Furthermore these lists of attributes have changed little over time. What I see are that in some circumstances, in some stage of development, some of them will be more important than others, but things like commercial awareness, some basic intellectual capabilities, results orientation, interpersonal skills, will always be important.

Personal Attributes

The personal attributes most employers want are:

Intellect - the ability to analyze critique and synthesize information in order to solve problems;

Knowledge - an understanding of ‘basic principles’ rather than large stocks of specialist knowledge;

Commercial Awareness- an appreciation of workplace culture

Willingness to Learn- the ability to learn and continue learning throughout life;

Flexibility and Adaptability- the ability to respond to change, to pre-empt change and ultimately to lead change;

Self-Regulatory Skills - self-discipline, time-keeping, the ability to deal with stress, to plan and prioritize your workload and to ‘juggle’ several tasks at once;

Self-Motivation- being a ‘self-starter’, resilient, tenacious and determined;

Self-Assurance - self-confidence, self-awareness, self-belief, self-sufficiency, self-direction and self-promotion.

Interactive Attributes

The interactive attributes most employers want are:

Communication Skills- the ability to communicate, formally and informally, verbally and in the written form, with a wide range of people both internal and external to the organization;

Interpersonal Skills- the ability to relate to, and feel comfortable with, people at all levels and to be able to make and maintain relationships as circumstances change;

Teamwork - the ability to work effectively in teams, often more than one team at once, and to be able to re-adjust roles from one project situation to another in an ever-shifting work situation.