The job market can be difficult to navigate and is becoming increasingly competitive. It can also be confusing and challenging to understand exactly what employers are looking for, particularly if you’ve never worked in Australia before.
That’s why it’s so important to highlight your employability skills when you’re applying for a job. These include soft skills, which are personal and people skills that are relevant across all industries, and hard skills, which are technical skills required for a specific role.
According to research by the National Skills Commission, three-quarters of employers consider personal qualities at least as important, if not more important, than technical skills.
Read on to find out more about the top skills employers are looking for in a graduate.
Bilingual skills
Yes – being bilingual can make you more employable! In today’s multicultural society, people who can speak more than one language are highly valued by employers, especially larger organisations that have staff overseas or who sell products internationally.
Communication skills
Being able to communicate effectively with colleagues, managers and customers is a crucial skill that many employers are seeking. Good oral and written communication skills include active listening, public speaking, giving and receiving feedback and being polite and friendly in your interactions with others.
Initiative skills
Are you good at identifying opportunities, being proactive, working with minimal direction from supervisors and finding ways to improve systems and processes? These are all examples of initiative skills that are highly valued by employers.
Organisational skills
Businesses are always looking for workers who can effectively manage their time and their workload, which is why organisational skills are highly valued by employers across all industries. Organisational skills include having good time management, being reliable, having good attention to detail and being able to prioritise tasks.
Problem-solving skills
Problem-solving skills involve finding effective solutions to business problems or difficult situations in a workplace. This could be regarding a particular project, a customer complaint or a day-to-day task. Good problem-solving skills include being able to think critically, conducting research to find solutions, analysing facts and information and developing creative, innovative and practical solutions.
Teamwork skills
No matter what industry you work in or what job you have, you will be working with other people. That is why employers look for people with good teamwork skills, such as being able to work with people of different ages, gender and race, being able to motivate and collaborate with others and contributing to team goals and results.
Technology skills
Almost all jobs require the use of some kind of technology, so it should be no surprise that technology skills are highly valued by employers! Technology skills can include the use of certain equipment and software programs, as well as basic computer skills such as using video conferencing, sending emails and navigating the internet. There’s no doubt that technology will continue to play a big role for businesses, so having sound technology skills will continue to be important for job-seekers in the future.
How can I develop these skills?
Even if you do not have previous work experience, the good news is that there are plenty of other ways you can develop these skills or demonstrate that you have these skills to an employer. Volunteering activities, internships, group project work in your university or TAFE course and even your hobbies or sporting activities can all be used to demonstrate your soft skills and hard skills.
If you want to upskill, short courses or ‘micro-credentials’ are available, which can be especially helpful with jobs or industries that are experiencing skills shortages. Some educational institutions also offer bridging courses that can help students gain invaluable skills.
How can I add these skills to my resume?
All of the skills we’ve mentioned would be great additions to your resume or cover letter, if they relate to the job you’re applying for. When mentioning them, ensure you use examples to quantify or qualify these skills. For example, if you’re mentioning teamwork skills, give examples of where you have worked in a team, and how many people you were working with. If identifying initiative skills, like helping improve a system that resulted in an increase in productivity, you could give the percentage of profit growth that you directly impacted.
Anyone can say they are hard-working or have communication skills. Prove it in your resume with examples!
You are young and bright, and so are we.
