Skills Employers Look For During a Pandemic
The big “C” virus has affected most of us one way or another, while for some of us, it’s taken a huge toll on not only our finances but our family’s livelihood as well. Back in March millions of Americans were left without work for a considerable amount of time after many commercial businesses, including motels, airlines, restaurants, and other jobs were forced to close or drastically cut back. Check out these skills employers look for during a pandemic.
Skills Employers Look for During a Pandemic
In the meantime, for some businesses, those days are now fortunately behind us. But even though many of us have returned back to our normal everyday jobs, there are still those who have yet to pick up a paycheck.
It’s hard to learn a different skill or trade overnight, but the pandemic is leaving a lot of us without any choice. If this sounds like you, it may be time for you to move on and find a new career, or a temporary full or part-time job to hold your family over.
It can be intimidating to even think about job interviews because it’s been years since you’ve had to do so. Following the pandemic, employers are now looking for skills that were once not considered to be requirements for their job postings.
Times have changed and require you to have a different outlook. These are skills and traits that employers are looking for in an employee following the pandemic.
Be Adaptable and Flexible
More than ever before, this pandemic has required us to be flexible and more adaptable to changes, not only for our work but in the way that we manage our households. This is probably one of the most important traits and skills that you need to expand upon.
You may be required to be more open-minded since you may be required to work different hours than you’re used to or learn a job that’s outside your comfort zone.
Employers want to know that you are capable of adapting to the changes that have happened in just these few short months and that you are willing to adjust to the market shifts that have taken place so that you, as well as they, aren’t left behind.
You’ll Need Emotional Intelligence
Most jobs require you to have basic math and reading skills, but there’s also emotional intelligence that is required. You need to know how to relate and deal with others and manage those relationships in a professional and understanding way. This includes dealing with other employees that you work with, vendors, and customers that you come into contact with each day.
Don’t Forget Your Negotiating Skills
Less and less money is being spent these days. Because of this, having good negotiating skills becomes that much more important to stay competitive. It’s all about profit and good customer service, and if businesses can see that you have good negotiating skills, you’ll be ahead of the game throughout the interviewing process.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
Another problem that this past pandemic has helped to create is that it has created more problems for companies and business practices to account for. If you have problem-solving and critical thinking skills, you may prove vital in helping those employers continue to push on and make the adjustments necessary to continue thriving following this pandemic.
You’ll Need Leadership Skills
Having a good leader is important for an employer to have when difficult problems have to be dealt with. So it requires you to have the knowledge necessary and the leadership abilities to face certain challenges without caving to them. This can also lead employees beneath you to thrive and perform better at their own level because of the motivation that you bring.
Digital and Coding Skills
Remote positions are becoming more and more popular these days, and that’s not entirely a bad thing! Knowing how to write, program or having digital and computer skills has become increasingly important like never before.
Maybe you’re a bit rusty in this area? You can brush up on your skills with free and paid-for online classes to help you get the tools that you need. These include Microsoft training and tutorials and EdX classes to get you going in the right direction.
Though it’s not as personal as a position that you’ve held in the past, these types of jobs still require you to be organized, efficient with your time, as well as having great communication skills. But this also gives you the benefits of working your own hours, cutting back on transportation expenses, and having the luxury of working from home.
You May Need Cybersecurity Skills
Following the pandemic, businesses have been required to move their practices and much of their work online for their employees. This has created challenges because there are more Internet-connected devices than ever before that could easily be breached. This has presented a new job market for cybersecurity so that businesses can continue to run as usual without any fear of cybercriminals that could create huge problems for those companies.
Don’t Appear Desperate
As psyched out as you may be, it’s important that you don’t appear desperate because that isn’t going to land you the job. Don’t share with them that this is your last attempt to put food on the table for your family because that isn’t going to sell you.
They want to see someone who is communicative, calm, confident, and resolute in their abilities to perform certain tasks. Your interviewing employer wants to know that you are capable of meeting challenges head-on and that they see someone who is emotionally and physically responsible and healthy enough to perform the job’s requirements.
Other Skills You May Need
- Essential Skills You’ll Need After a Pandemic
- 15 Street Smart Skills We All Need
- Home Economic Skills You Should Teach Your Kids
- 30 Pioneer Skills We Cannot Lose
Final Word
Coronavirus has required a lot of us to become more flexible and adaptable, even putting many of us in a position to start considering a different career path. This can be a scary thought after all these years. Yet it’s nice to know ahead of time what employers are looking for in an employee, and that’s where these tips come in.
With these skills, it will be hard for them to pass you up, especially when they need good employees like yourself who have a good head on their shoulders. What skills employers look for during a pandemic do you possess? May God bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Man Sitting At Computer Deposit photos_209178312_s-2019
There are so many jobs available, around here, it’s not even funny.
Skilled, unskilled, private, public. It’s there.
We literally can not hire enough due to factors of personal limits. Their personal limits are bad credit, inability to not smoke dope and unwilling to start at the bottom and move up. We had a hire pull last year where we tried for 30, got 2 and 1 stayed.
You gotta be 21-35 to start with either college or management type experience and we only start at 38K with time increases as well as increases from promotions and/or merit and 8hrs sick leave earned monthly with no cap and start at 8hrs of vacation earned monthly that increases with time and with a 240hr cap which you will always get to take (in other words I have to and get to take my 5 weeks leave every year), matching percentage of 401K type funds and retirement after 20 and/or upon age 50 with a mandatory retirement at 57 and you keep your health insurance even after retirement. Overtime is available too, paid for several trips and cruises and many guns with it myself. Absolutely horrible conditions (sarc) and just not worth the effort cause being a pothead on unemployment living in moms basement is so much better.
Hi Matt, oh my gosh, you made me laugh! I can actually picture potheads on unemployment living in mom’s basement. Not really, but I’ve seen them on TV. Government jobs are the best, they’re hard to get in Utah. Most government workers I know knew someone and got hired because of that. Which is the case in most jobs. I wish people would understand how critical credit is, it can break or make a job application, car application and home or rental agreements as well. Drugs, geez, we need to get people to get a job and get off drugs. You have to be clean to want to work. Great comment, Linda
Matt and Linda ~
I have also run into situations where I have worked in the past where people “expected” to be hired at a much higher level. One job I had – which I retired from – didn’t require any education beyond a high school diploma or GED. Many of the people hired at the same time as I was were slugs – no proper work ethic!! Well, I have a college degree and a very good work ethic. Those who stayed climbed the ladder but slowly – one I recall specifically (a guy) raised a real stink because I (a woman) climbed faster than he did! The boss finally told him that A) he was often away from his desk when he should not have been; B) sometimes late to work. I know the boss had spoken to him a few times about those two issues but was not willing to fire him because it was so hard to get people to stay.
Now in retirement, I have taken a couple of part-time jobs that are what most would consider menial jobs – janitorial. But, I get a pay check and the company actually wants me to work for them because I do have a great work ethic. Now, this same company hired me to just go through a LARGE building and disinfect after the janitor cleans! Basically I am just using a spray disinfectant on tables, light switches, faucet/toilet handles and door handles. I don’t even have to wipe the disinfectant off – spray and let dry! And to get paid for that? not much but hey, in retirement, every little bit helps!!
My parents taught my siblings and me to always be on time or a bit early for a job, and to consider ourselves “contractors”. As a contractor, I contract with the company to do a service for a certain price – just like that company does a service for a price for others. Because I am a “contractor” I am representing myself and if I don’t do that well, I am failing myself. For me, even if the pay is very little, I feel that if I don’t do a good job, I am not only failing myself but also failing my parents who taught me! Anyway – young people today would do well to heed that advice.
Hi Leanne, great comment, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! So true about failing ourselves and our parents if we don’t do a good job! Kudos, Linda
I raised my kids telling them I do not care what it is you do as long as it’s honest and that you do the best you can at it.
Work is important as you spend almost 1/4 -1/3 of your life there.
I taught them that work ethic will take you a long ways and folks are more forgiving when you do mess up because we will make mistakes. Mistakes are just that a “one and done” deal. You show up late after being regular for 7yrs they are going to overlook it but if it continues it’s no longer a mistake but instead now a habit and purposeful because you didn’t take corrective action after your self reflection on your failure.
Fully own your failures and be humble in success.
I’ve got 2 successful children who are raising my 3 beautiful grandkids. Parenting is the hardest job I’ve ever seen but has the most reward imaginable.
Hi Matt, I love your comment! Commonsense is the name of the game. Example is another one! Linda
While my husband can remodel and repair anything, his greatest skill is the ability to see toilet paper for sale more than three aisles away! That makes him a keeper.
Hi Chris, oh yeah, he’s a keeper!!! I got the giggles, this is the best! Linda
I love this comment!!! I was raised the same way. You represent yourself and how you present yourself stays with you for life. I have always been a firm believer in being early to any job. Try to never miss a day unless your are deathly ill, and then show your face. It’s always better to be sent home because they can see you tried to work but can’t. I would love to get a good job with benefits, It’s really hard right now with everything going on and so many lay offs. Kids now a days have no appreciation when it come to a good job. I’ve been a manager in the restaurant business for 8 years where I presently live now and many years in the food industry in other places I have lived. Trying to find good employees is very hard. Drugs and no respect for the job is a big issue. We are a dying breed our parents instilled quality and respect in us and this just doesn’t happen anymore. I had my kids when they were young work for at least half of what they wanted like a car, they had to pay for half of it and I matched. Same for their insurance and anything they wanted after a certain age. I know at the time they didn’t like it, but now they all have good jobs, a family of there own and respect for what they have learned from. They tell me all the time they are now glad I raised them the way I did. It’s tough love but but it all works out in the end.
Hi Jerri, oh my gosh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your comment. You nailed it on talking about teaching our kids! I have always believed in tough love, and my kids have thanked me many times for it. They all work hard and do not need to depend on others to take care of their families. It’s so funny you shared about matching what you kids saved to buy a car. We did the same thing. I have my granddaughter living with us for a year while she goes to a hairstyling school. It’s been a blessing to have her here for 12 months. She had to work for the down payment just to start school and has worked every month so she does not have a student loan. The school offered interest-free tuition with monthly payments. She will graduate this Friday debt-free. She has learned from her mother (my daughter) that she has to work for what she wants. Life is good if our kids know how to work. Great comment, thank you, Linda