1. Preparation for Employment
Early preparation is the most important step to a successful employment in the United States. There are various ways to search for a job, but here are the essential key steps to get you started on the right path.
Self Assessment
Personality and Behavioral Traits
It is important to know who you are and what you want in your career. If you are unsure about which career path to take, then first conduct a self assessment on your personality and behavioral traits. Myers-Briggs, Predictive Index, Holland Code, and Keirsey Temperament are all available online as tools and surveys that will help you assess your personality and further evaluate your strengths and weaknesses.
Skills Development
Once you understand your personality and behavioral traits, reflect on your “hard and soft” skills. List out your skills, strengths, and personal ambitions to better understand yourself.
Hard Skills are specific professional abilities that are required to effectively perform a certain job or role. They are usually learned in school or through accredited training. Skills that are categorized as “hard” are teachable skills and are essential to a successful career.
College degree
Certification
Coding and developing
Language
Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
Soft Skills are more related to your personality, and is not necessary but may help enhance your ability to perform a certain job or role. Those with good soft skills are able to integrate better within a new environment and provide a positive work atmosphere for those around them. Usually, people with stronger soft skills can yield higher productivity and greater results.
Teamwork
Communication skills
Manners
Leadership
Presentation
Public speaking
Positive attitude
After listing out your hard and soft skills, it is important to determine how to build upon your strengths and improve upon your weaknesses. Set a daily, weekly and monthly goals targeted for skills building, which is essential for continued career growth.
Since hard skills are teachable, most companies focus more on the applicant’s soft skills. Soft skills shows “why” and “how” you perform a specific task, rather than just “what are you good at”. Due to this, most interview questions will be targeted to evaluate and assess one’s soft skills.
HRCap TIP 01: Skills
Identifying your skills will not only help you discover what you are good at, but it will also help you assess what you need to learn next for your growth.
Obtain mastery in Microsoft Office Suite, especially in Excel and PowerPoint. Companies rely on these two basic programs. Acquiring additional computer skills will be an added plus as well.
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