The job market is very tight for years because there is too much supply of fresh graduates and less demand. So, a candidate has to arm himself with various skills for job hunting. In recent times, students have become aware of different skills such as hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills or transferable skills are measurable or quantifiable. For example, a person has project handling experience in a company for many years and that is a measurable hard skill. Unlike hard skills, soft skills cannot be quantified or measured but they can be proved. These are communication skills, adaptability, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, etc.
In the coming days, soft skills will be the greatest identifier of a suitable candidate in a job interview among hundreds of other candidates having the same hard skill sets. Why is it so? Recruiters believe that the new appointees with better soft skills can adjust to the work environment easily and quickly. This helps to cut down training cost significantly on the part of the companies.
From the perspective of a fresher, a candidate needs to focus on some key skills which have been discussed below point by point. Besides, we will focus on organically developing these skills over time.
Communication skills
Since time immemorial, a good speaker is always respected. A good speaker leaves a permanent mark in our minds with his inspiring words. As a fresh graduate, we need to learn this art and master it as early as possible for better results in job interviews.
Communication skills are not only communicating something in English in an interview but also knowing to put something in the right context. It takes time to develop. One cannot develop communication skills overnight. For that matter, one has to prepare for quite some time. Besides, various life experiences also help to develop the skill.
From a job point of view, the recruiters size you up in less than seven seconds. He forms a rough idea about you in those seconds. Hence, you have to put your best impression. You can put a lasting impression by answering wisely these questions which are generally asked in the interview.
1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why do you want this job?
3. Why should we hire you?
These questions known as behavioral questions are meant to assess your soft skills. I have already mentioned that there will be hundreds of other candidates having the same hard skill sets as yours’. It is all about how you address these questions in job interviews. You have to speak fluently and nicely in a form of a story to prove your suitability for the current opening. A good communication skill does help to prove your point convincingly.
Sujith Kumar, HR Infosys, shared an instance that took place during a recruitment drive in an engineering college in Pondicherry. He was interviewing a bunch of final year students for campus placement. One guy was answering his questions in only ‘yes’ and ‘no’. He had only two specific answers and nothing else. Then, he told the student to go on taking in any topic that he liked. He suddenly got up and left the room. Mr. Sujith was awestricken. The student did not understand the meaning of ‘go on’. The principal came running and enquired Mr. Sujith that why he did chase away the topper. He replied that his topper did not understand the difference between ‘go out’ & ‘go on’. Now, if we see the incident from the perspective of a recruiter or an employer, he might encounter these problems if he recruits him.
(a) He will sit quietly in a corner and won’t be able to participate in any conversation; business or social.
(b) He won’t be able to communicate with his seniors, teammates, juniors, and potential clients.
Hence, the company has to spend money to develop his communication skill and bring him to a par level.
We need to keep in mind that in recruitment drives, the employers or recruiters are on shopping for the best talents who can help them sort out problems in the future. They will not recruit somebody out of pity, sympathy, or empathy.
Teamwork
The ability to work in a team is very important. Recruiters look for such soft skills in candidates because; companies are all about teamwork now a day. A small team will be in charge of a project which needs to be finished within a stipulated time. A good team can reach heights such as the Australian cricket team. All the players play as a team and do their specified duty. Consequently, they garner the best results. Their records tell the tale. Individualism has little to do with companies' modern work culture. Similarly, we can cite the example of Japan. In Japan, the students are taught the importance of teamwork right from the beginning. With its teamwork culture, Japan has reached the zenith in terms of economic power.
Now, as a fresh graduate, you have to show yourself as a team player. In the matter, you have to work right from the beginning of the graduate program and build your resume in that way. You have to take part in projects and activities that involve teamwork. During your college days, you will get an innumerable number of opportunities in the form of various events held at your college/ university. Only, you have to be vigilant and grab those opportunities. When you become a part of an event’s team, you get a lot of experiences which you can share in various interviews as per necessity.
Adaptability
Adaptability refers to the flexibility in a candidate. It means whether a person can adapt to the situation quickly or not. When computers came to India, People resisted. There was quite uproar throughout India in Government offices. The imported computers were lying unattended for years in Calcutta ports. Most of the time, we like to stay in our comfort zones. Whenever there is some change, we tend to complain and whine to resist. But change is inevitable. There is no way to stop change. Only, we can adapt and nothing else.
As a fresher, you should be able to adapt quickly. Presently, every field is undergoing tremendous change in terms of innovation and invention. You have to look for the latest updates in your field and try to learn them without losing much time. Suppose, your current field of study uses a new software or a technique that is very useful in solving some problems. Then, you should learn the software tool or technique first hand. This will not only broaden your knowledge but also enhance your credibility as a quick learner who is highly adaptable in the current scenario. This will be a positive sign in your resume.
Problem-solving
Companies face problems all the time. They have issues related to production, distribution, sales, management, tax, etc. All they need are problem solvers who can sort out the problem for them. If you have that skill, you are a ‘hot cake’ in the job market. Everybody will jump to have you on board. Now, as fresher you do not have much to do in this regard because you are too inexperienced to provide a solid idea. But, you should keep in mind that everyone knows that you are a fresher. Nobody expects that much from you. But, you should show your intent by offering various ways to solve certain issues in the specific field. For that matter, you have to invest some time in reading. Suppose, you are appearing for a cement company and they have production issues. You can study their production to distribution operations very minutely. If you can provide ingenious idea related to their problem during the interview, they will keep in mind. This shows that you have this rare problem-solving ability.
Critical thinking
People with a critical thinking mind can disrupt the world's functioning by introducing something new and fresh. People like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk fall in this category. When Steve Jobs brought smartphones, the world could not think of multitasking with a phone like listening to music, calling, and messaging simultaneously. Similarly, Bill gates brought Windows OS which is user-friendly by ending the era of DOS in computing. The most recent entry into the league is Elon Musk. Who could have thought of setting up an electric car company that competes with conventional internal combustion cars and owning a private space agency? People thought that he was building Space X for fun. But, he started monetizing it by sending satellites for countries like Israel, Bangladesh, etc. These people have disrupted the world's functioning with their new ideas. As a student of a new era, the fresh graduates should think about various issues deeply and try to bring a new idea. Currently, the Government of India is also trying to develop critical thinking in various ways by incorporating structural changes in the education system. Hackathon and Toycathon are some open platforms that strive to induce critical thinking in students. Being a part of these programs, fresh graduates can put a check mark in the critical thinking box of their resume.
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