Top Four Most Important Skills Employers Look for in Business Candidates



Going into business is popular and can be highly lucrative. The earning potential in business is likely what attracts most candidates. It takes more than technical and learned skills to be successful in the field, so hold your best qualities up against this skill list to see if business might be a good field for you.

Communication. To communicate effectively, you must be as good a listener as you are a talker. Being in business means working with other people, both as a leader and as a subordinate. Both roles require humility, respect, a civil attitude even under duress, and respect. To communicate well, you’ll need to have a grasp on written, verbal, and non-verbal communication.

You should be able to articulate your thoughts clearly, both in writing, and in meetings. You should be comfortable speaking one on one, and it will help if you can get comfortable with public speaking, in smaller groups like business meetings, as well as in larger groups.

Finance. Managing financial decisions is a key part of the role of most business employees. This means that candidates should understand a company’s financial needs, as well as the intricacies of what the market is current demanding. Employers will seek candidates who can analyze a financial situation, draw logical conclusions, and then implement action. A good candidate will be able to articulate the financial reasons behind their decisions. They should also be able to produce detailed and accurate finance reports.

Delegation. Managing people, or even working alongside peers, doesn’t mean taking on all of the work yourself. In business, a spirit of collaboration benefits everyone, and part of collaboration is delegation. This means offering other people opportunities to do work, even if you think it will benefit your own clout or resume. Delegation is also an important detail of time management. If you take everything on yourself, chances are your work in key areas will suffer. Someone who excels in business will be able to manage their own workload by appropriately delegating tasks and projects to colleagues and subordinates.

Soft Skills. It’s tempting to focus on technical and analytical skills when discussing business qualities, but soft skills are every bit as important as the things you learn about in business school.

Some of the top soft skills essential to be successful in business are things like being a team player, which means being unselfish and cooperative, and considering what’s best for the group, not just for you.

Having a flexible attitude, which means going along with a plan even if it’s not a plan you favor or agree with. Problem solving is a major soft skill to bear in mind. When unexpected wrenches are thrown into the gears, a good problem solver will stay calm and think critically to get things moving again. Problems solvers are high-value to employers. Confidence is another soft skill that’s of high value, but not false confidence, or a haughty attitude that’s undeserved. Confidence must be backed up with real knowledge, skill, and ability.

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Job Hopping: Pros and Cons

“Job hopping” sounds like a social activity, but really it just means that a person switches jobs frequently (every year or two), without putting down long roots in one place. It’s becoming a more popular career path strategy for people, especially Millennials, who are looking for more aggressive career development.

The Pros:

Change is good! Working at different companies, in different environments (even if the roles are similar) is a good way to build experience quickly. Job hopping offers you more chances to try new things and take on new projects, ensuring that you grow consistently.

It’s becoming more accepted. Job hopping used to be considered “career suicide,” because it raised red flags. Why has this person held so many different jobs over a short period of time? The economics of American jobs have shifted so substantially, however, that now it’s becoming more accepted, especially when people are younger and just starting out in their careers. An unstable economy can upset even the most carefully planned career trajectory, and hiring managers are increasingly understanding of that.

It’s can be a fast track to higher salary. If you jump on opportunities for advancement at other companies, you have the opportunity to negotiate higher and move into higher paying positions, faster than you might if you were going through a standard promotions process at a single company.

It’s a network builder. New company = new colleagues, and an ever-growing stable of work acquaintances, mentors, and friends in your field.

It shows you’re adaptable. Starting over somewhere else requires a lot of thinking on your feet, and being able to adapt to new environments and ways of doing things. You can emphasize that in your resume and in interviews, and use specific examples of how your range of jobs have made you a more nimble employee.

The Cons:

Some hiring managers still see it as a red flag. They might think you’re a flight risk, after the company invests training time and resources into you as an employee. Unfairly or not, you may be seen as less-than-loyal, or disinterested in committing to the role or to the company.

Short-term focus comes at the expense of long-term progress. It can be tough to see where you are, career-wise, if you’ve been moving so much that you don’t see how your efforts pan out. If you’re out the door before positive results roll in for your hard work, you can’t really quantify that and use it on your resume in the future.

Your job may not be as secure. In a reorganization or layoff situation, if it comes down to a Sophie’s Choice-style decision between the newish employee who started less than a year ago, or the longer-term employee with a long history of institutional knowledge and achievement, you might be the easier one to let go.

As you can see, there are good points and bad for each career choice—and in fact, job hopping may not be a choice at all, but rather a response to a chaotic industry, or economic changes well beyond your control. The most important decision to make, whether you want to plant a career ladder in one place, or make chess-like moves through your field to reach your ultimate career goals, is what works best for you.

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