When it comes to hiring and recruitment, very little thought is given to the employers’ perspective of things. Understanding how your recruiters evaluate can help you present your skills, abilities in alignment with their expectations. Truth be told, it is the combination of both the hard and soft skills that an employer values, and for an applicant to be successful, they need to present their skillsets in relevant ways. One more thing that many applicants often fail to realize is that just having the right skillsets isn’t enough, they need to be open and adaptive for the evolution of their skills. For example, the hard skills of a candidate can change with the advancement of technology, availability of better tools, etc. The soft skills, on the other hand, evolve with time, personal experience and bring to the surface the candidate’s real potential. Both of which are equally essential for fueling growth in every position that an employee serves in an organization.
Before going deeper into the skillsets every recruiter wants in their team, let’s take a closer look at the mind of a recruiter.
A Good Recruiter & Emotional Intelligence
Seldom Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is given any weightage – especially when we’re talking about effective recruiting. EQ is often defined as the ability to manage one’s and others’ emotions, reactions and influence the entire workspace. For a recruiter not only does hiring resources with higher EQ come with their job description, but also is a virtue they require as a recruiter. This way they can interact, participate and build rewarding networks of hiring in the long term. Among the many advantages that employees having a higher emotional quotient deliver, one of them is to have better decision-making skills.
Hard & Soft Skills
The hard skills comprise of the teachable abilities and can be learned in a classroom setting. These are the ones the employers often put as the primary filters – something that defines the capacity of your position based on your proficiency. The typical hard skills include:
- Degree in a certain industry
- Work experience
- Understanding/depth in certain areas of your industry
- Expertise in applying technology/framework/tools to carry out your goals.
Soft skills, on the other hand, comprise your behavior, perception, personal traits, and cognitive abilities. Since they’re more ingrained with your personality, sometimes they’re harder to quantify but all the more vital in any work position for any employer. As per the studies by National Soft Skills Association, 85% of all job successes come from sound soft-skills development. Some examples of such interpersonal skills can be:
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Leadership skills
- Motivation
Skills That Make a Difference in Getting Recruited
Now that you have a premonition of how things look from an employer/recruiters perspective, it’s likely that you may get a clearer picture of how employers look for candidates with hybrid skills (the right combination of hard & soft skills). Starting with the hard skills, here are the most in-demand traits that employers of any industry prefer the most in a candidate:
- Data-driven Critical Thinking
Technology has not only changed the game of how businesses develop products and services but also redefined how customers shop. With the revolutionary incorporation of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence in every domain, as a candidate you’d require to be well-versed in the tools and methodologies to do smart work. Not only does that saves ample time for your ‘would-be-employer’ but also keeps you ahead in terms of insightful skills that help you stand out and be sought-after.
- Multi-tasking & Time Management
No matter the industry, juggling multiple projects with different deadlines comes with the job description of every position. Employers often sort-out candidates having multi-tasking as their strengths, and prefer employees who can take account of everything they do. Especially in a hybrid work environment, it’s essential to be in sync with deadlines, updates, and other details – as the employees are scattered.
