Maruf Zaid Deen
Having worked in the field of personal development, careers education, customer service and HR for over ten years, I have found that exhibiting strong employability skills are crucial to career success. In addition, God has given us all many talents and abilities and therefore we must apply them effectively for the greater good. We should always strive to be the very best that we can be!
Employability depends on your skills, knowledge, attitudes, how you utilise those assets and how you present them to employers. This is also defined as the transferable skills needed by an individual to make them ‘employable’.
In the times that we live in, it is clearly evident that things are getting more and more competitive and in order to stand out and excel in the labour market it is crucial that we exhibit excellent employability skills.
Below are my top ten skills:
1) Communication and interpersonal skills
This is the ability to explain what you mean in a clear and concise way through written and spoken means. To further add, it is also about being able to listen and relate to other people, and to act upon key information / instructions. Demonstrating strong communication skills is everything! If you can develop this then it will do you good stead in the future Insha’Allah.
2) Using your initiative and being self-motivated
Employers have an expectation from employees for them to be self-motivated and for them in respect to use their own initiative. They want staff to just get on with the job at hand and be able to effectively deliver. In having new ideas of your own which can be made into a reality and also showing a strong personal drive and not waiting to be told to do things are actions in which demonstrate this.
3) Problem solving skills
I’ve come to find that this is essentially the ability to understand a problem by breaking it down into smaller parts, and identifying the key issues, implications and identifying solutions. This is about applying your knowledge from many different areas to solve a task.
4) Working under pressure and to deadlines
This entails being able to handle stress that comes with deadlines and ensuring that you meet them effectively. Regardless of your work environment, you’ll most likely face challenges and thus by being headstrong and being focused you will be able to succeed.
5) Team working
Being a good team player is integral to team and work success. This is about being able to working well with other people from different discipline, backgrounds, and expertise to accomplish a task or goal.
6) Organisational skills
Exhibiting strong organisational skills is vital. It’s about being organised and methodical and being able to plan work to meet deadlines and targets. Someone who possesses this skill regularly monitors their progress of work to ensure that they are on track to meeting a deadline.
7) Ability to learn and adapt
In order to exhibit this trait you need to be enthusiastic about your work, and be able to identify ways to learn from your mistakes for the benefit of both you and your employer.
8) Numeracy
Wherever you go maths and English is always seen as a priority and requirement and this is something that I’ve come to find in my experience. Therefore the ability to use data and maths to support your evidence or demonstrate a point is always an added bonus.
9) Negotiation skills
To take on board other people’s feelings and express your own requirements in an unemotional clear fashion to achieve a win-win outcome. This is highly valued by employers as it portrays that you can be able to represent them or their interests in the best way possible if required.
10) Valuing diversity and difference
This is principally about knowing the value of diversity and what it can bring. It also covers understanding and being considerate of the different needs of different individuals. Employers look for this as we live in a global diverse world and being able to cater to everyone and accepting each other makes you a more cohesive and attractive employee. This is something not to underrate as valuing diversity is essentially about respecting each other.
Reflection and Conclusion
Alhamdulillah over the years, I have come to work with many employers such as Accenture, KPMG, Barclays, Siemens, HSBC, Clifford Chance and over 100+ other multi-national companies which has been greatly beneficial and immensely rewarding. From working with them, I have come to learn that the aforementioned skills are things in which they look for in potential employees – This means you! Therefore we have to be the best that we can be and we must push ourselves to always aim high and be ambitious and aspirational. Although these skills can primarily be applied in the work environment, they are also transferrable and can be applied to anyone irrespective of your background.
Our beautiful faith calls on us to demonstrate strong work ethic, to work hard to benefit others and to always be the best at everything we do. Insha’Allah by applying the skills listed we can achieve our goals and be successful. I pray our Lord enables us all to have successful, fulfilling and prosperous careers. Allahumma Ameen 🙂
Wassalamu’alaykum – May peace be with you all.
Best wishes,
Maruf Zaid Deen
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