Here’s the Offer Letter, But Are You (Skill) Ready?

There are no two ways about the importance of basic skills like Math and English at a workplace – be it everyday calculations, interactions with clients or even internal communication, almost every job requires you to have at least your basics of these skills down.

Along with these prerequisites, every job has a specific qualification associated with it. An IIM-A degree for your top I-banks and top-tier consulting firms, Top three law colleges for key litigation and transaction law roles, the list goes on and on. But what doesn’t feature in the list of requisites for the job are skills that help us survive and thrive in an organisation. So, here’s a list of five skills you must develop in order to thrive in the current workplace.

1. Teamwork

The rat race in schools and colleges undermines the importance of coordination and teamwork. You are expected to ace whatever you put your head in and do it individually. The concept of group projects that we have in colleges is often taken for granted and the onus of completion of the assignment is always on one responsible individual or the one who is relatively freer. Speak to anyone who has begun their corporate career and they will vouch for the importance of teamwork in any organisation. Meeting deadlines just becomes much easier and the workload feels slightly lighter if individuals learn to cooperate and work together. Workplace politics will always exist, however having a team that helps you get through your day without feeling like incessantly yelling at the one sitting on the opposite screen is of primary importance. You need to be empathetic, put the team goals before your own and communicate effectively.

2. Adaptive Thinking

In today’s fast-paced world where technology, job profiles and organisation structures are constantly changing, it seems unreal to expect your current skill-set to satisfy the job requirements even 6 months down the line. Hence, what is required in tomorrow’s workforce is the power to adapt to changes and be receptive to all the deviations from the current scenario, as change is the only thing that will stay constant throughout your career. Stay abreast with the changes in your field by reading relevant publications or following industry updates on the internet.

3. Technology

It is a given that today’s workforce needs to be tech savvy! So why is IT not a mandatory subject across every field? 70% of our time at work is spent on Excel, PowerPoint, Chrome and other tools so why is IT given a step-motherly treatment in college? It isn’t uncommon to hear a marketing professional grumble about the complications they’ve faced while preparing a PowerPoint presentation or a finance professional speak about how marvelled they were when 6 months down the line, they figured smarter shortcuts to steps that took a lot of their time earlier.

4. Inquiry Skills and Assertion

Gone are the days when ‘Yes sir, this will be done’ was the standard reply to any superior. Today’s era is of questioning! This does not mean you stop working and question something that even you agree makes sense, just for the sake of it. It simply means analysing the future course and justifying your actions and the time spent on it. If you find a smarter way to do something, do it that way. If questioned, learn to prove that your method is better and be assertive about the results, albeit in a polite manner. You don’t want to be kicked out of your job for rudeness, do you? Ask questions about things you do not understand, read relevant material and get clarity on all the basics.

5. Self-management

Finally, what is indispensable to any role is self-management. Plan your work, organise the tasks as per their importance and list down the required course of action. It is important to keep track of the time involved and give an estimate for each task accordingly. We’ve been taught time management at every stage of life – however, it is not until it is put to test at your workplace that you understand the importance of it. It is equally important to know how to schedule your leaves as per your planned work and schedule your work as per your leaves planned. Maintaining work-life balance will help you stay refreshed and give your best at work too.

Your education and subject matter continues to be important for the next move in your career, but having these skills will ensure that you manage to get through each day at your workplace and make you stronger, smarter and sharper. It’ll help you to have that edge over thousands of similar applicants for your coveted role. And most importantly, it’ll help you to finally be skill-ready for the future in the truest sense.