Listen, Communicate – The Employability Skills Employers Look For

Listen, Communicate – The Employability Skills Employers Look For

How good are you at the art of listening? One of the major employability skills that employers look for in a candidate. Read how to work on it...

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Up your employability skills- know how to listen.
Up your employability skills- know how to listen.
Up your employability skills- know how to listen.
Up your employability skills- know how to listen.

When you read a job description, you realize that the employers are very specific about what they want. They want B.Tech graduates or people who have or about to complete their MBA. However, what no one specifies is that the other employability skills or traits that employers look for when hiring a candidate.

These employability skills are beyond the marks you received in your exams or how attractive your resume was. Today, we have picked up one such major employability skill that can get you the job you want. What is it and how can you master it?

The art of listening

Listening is actually an art that many people fail to master. Most often people hear without really listening to what is being said. Listening and communicating effectively is one of the key employability skills that employers look for in a candidate.

Employers want to know that the person they hire will be the right candidate for the job. That he/she will retain the information, dwell on it, think intelligently and act smartly. They don’t want someone who will follow instructions blindly or someone who has the listening skills of a tablespoon.

Using your own intelligence to find the solution to problems, understanding the want of the employers and bridging the communication gap is really important if you want to get hired. Not only that, you can also understand questions and answer them more effectively if you can listen to what the employer wants to communicate.

Listening vs Hearing

Listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing is just the sound that enters your ear and something you don’t necessarily pay attention to. Listening is actively paying attention to the story, how it is told, the voice modulation and the feeling that goes with the words. It is being aware of not just the verbal, but also the non-verbal.

“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.  Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.” – Rachel Naomi Remen

You need to actively listen to know what the interviewer wants to know and answer the question correctly. You need to pay attention to the verbal and the non-verbal to be able to do your job efficiently.

How to hone your listening skills

Be in the moment

Instead of distracting yourself with things that are and things that may be, concentrate on the here and the now. Stay in the moment and don’t be distracted by what the speaker is wearing or what someone else is saying. Pay attention to the words and the tone and the facial expression of the person involved.

Listen between the lines

Concentrate on not only what the speaker is saying but what is the underlying meaning beneath all that. If the interviewer asks you “Tell me about yourself” listen to more than what the question portrays. This will keep your mind from wandering off.

Keeping up with the speaker

If you want to hone your employability skills, you should be able to keep up with the speaker. If the speaker is going on at a slow pace, it is very tempting to let your mind wander. However, your wandering mind can cost you the job. Instead of focusing on the questions or what the interviewer is saying when it piques your interest, try to listen to them throughout and form your answers accordingly. Maintain eye contact as that will help your mind from wandering off.

Practice listening

Listening is an art that you can master by practicing. When you talk to your friends or family members try to listen to what they are saying and read the unsaid words. Imagine that each moment is a test which you need to pass in order to up your employability skills and get the job you want. Keep the key-points in mind and cross check with the listener to ensure that you heard and understood them right.

Be job ready, be employable and find fresher jobs or IT jobs or any other job of your choice. Earn the trust and the faith of the interviewer and keep practicing with the help of online applications to better your skills.

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