Employability skills serve an important purpose in helping people find and keep jobs. They are vital to an individual's economic self-sufficiency. They also mean better access to promotions and better job opportunities. Cultivating employability skills leads to more success in the workplace than if an employee only does the minimum to find a job and stay employed.
Work Ethic
One of the most important employability skills is a person's work ethic. How hard a person is willing to work in large part determines how successful he is in his job. Working hard and showing initiative demonstrate to an employer that an employee is one to keep around, train and promote to higher positions. With promotions come raises, as well, meaning a person can provide for himself and his family better materially.
Find a Job
Even before a person starts a job, her work ethic plays an important role in determining whether and what type of job she will find. Persistence in finding a job is a reflection of her work ethic. Constantly improving her job skills, such as usage of computers and learning the latest techniques and information in her industry, show that she is committed to finding a job and keeping abreast of the changes in her job and industry, as well as in the wider job market.
Get the Job
Employability skills also encompass interview for a job, write a resume and apply for positions. When an individual knows present himself in the best light as a potential employee, he is demonstrating his knowledge of sell and organize information in the most positive way, which is important in any job.
Keeping the Job
Keeping a job requires more than showing up to work on time every day. It also involves showing initiative in finding tasks that need to be done and doing them without having to be asked. It involves doing jobs outside the job description to help others out in the workplace and being flexible to do new tasks when the situation requires it. If a cashier does not show up to work one day because she is sick, and an employee works as a stocker but knows use the cash register, his duties for the day may change, requiring flexibility and adaptability on his part. Employability skills also include being able to work well on a team, being able to manage the employee's own work, making critical decisions after effectively evaluating a situation, having a positive attitude and treating co-workers and supervisors with respect.
Advancing
Consistently demonstrating honesty, integrity, initiative and strong work ethic can help an employee advance within her company. She has shown herself to be a valuable employee who is loyal, trustworthy, reliable and flexible. Opportunities to cross-train for other positions will more likely be available to such an employee than one who does not exhibit these qualities. The same is true for promotions within the company. When an employee proves herself as having and using employability skills on a regular basis, she will likely have more opportunities to advance within the company and the industry than if she does not.
Tags: within company, work ethic, advance within, advance within company, being able, Employability skills also, showing initiative
