Top Skills Professionals Need for Workplace Success

What does it mean to be a professional? What skills do professionals need to have? A professional is someone who possesses specialized knowledge, often in addition to having completed some focused academic preparation (such as high school or college or technical classes) for their career. Teachers, lawyers, engineers, physicians, contractors, IT workers, and employees from countless other industries are considered professionals.

These are primarily soft skills—intangible skills that help you interact and get along well with others. In some cases, employers may seek applicants with hybrid skills, which are a combination of soft skills and the hard skills required to do the job.

Because professional skills are required for nearly every job, they are rarely included in job listings. So, let’s review the top skills for workplace that all employers expect job applicants and employees to have when they work in professional roles.

Top 7 Professional Skills

Communication
Communication skills, in general, are important for any professional. It includes written, verbal, and nonverbal communication. However, one particularly important communication skill in today’s world is email. Almost every profession requires some email correspondence. Professionals need to be able to craft clearly written, concise emails, using the appropriate format and tone for colleagues and employers alike.

Other communication skills include:

Advocating for yourself and your causes
Asking for help or advice
Brainstorming
Building buy-in to an idea
Business writing
Dealing with difficult people
Facilitating
Handling office politics
Handshaking
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Interviewing
Managing a positive relationship with an employer
Listening
Networking
Persuasion
Resume writing
Small talk
Verbal communication
Written communication

Public Speaking
Almost every job requires some public speaking. While you might not be giving long presentations regularly, you will likely need to speak up during meetings, provide information to your colleagues, and/or speak to a group in some small way. Professionals need to be capable of speaking to others clearly and presenting information effectively.

The following skills are important for anyone who has to present in public:

Articulation
Confidence
Creating presentation slides
Poise
Projection
Receiving criticism and feedback
Social skills

Teamwork
All professionals have to work in some sort of a group, whether they are working on team projects or trying to help a company achieve its mission. As a professional, you must possess the interpersonal skills required to get along with others.

You need to be able to share responsibility with others, communicate effectively, and achieve a common goal.

There are other teamwork skills professionals need:

Conflict management
Conflict resolution
Negotiation
Relationship building
Team building
Team management

Time Management
As a professional, you will be tasked with completing a variety of tasks. You’ll have to draw upon organizational skills to budget your time so that you complete each task by a given deadline without feeling overwhelmed.

Employees who show up on time (or, better yet, early), are often perceived to be more hardworking by their employers (even if this is not the case). You can therefore boost your professional reputation by showing up to work and meetings a few minutes early.

Attention to detail
Intrinsic motivation
Meeting deadlines
Project management
Punctuality
Self-starting

Leadership
Regardless of the role you play at an organization, leadership skills are important. Whether you’re working on a team or in a management position, being able to lead is an essential skill for a professional.

Some of the top skills for workplace that show your leadership abilities include:

Accountability
Budgeting
Calm under pressure
Coaching
Coordinating resources
Decision making
Goal setting
Growth mindset
Information gathering
Influence
Management
Mentoring
Meeting management
Planning
Politeness
Positivity
Prioritization

Flexibility
Most jobs require a degree of flexibility, and the ability to be willing to change. It’s important to be able to understand different perspectives, and to adjust your workflow and contributions to the company as change arises.

Here are some of the top skills for workplace that will enable you to show employers that you have the flexibility required for success on the job:

Able to change your mind
Adaptability
Analysis
Anger management
Patience
Perceptiveness
Problem solving

Personal Skills
Interpersonal skills are the soft skills that enable employees to work well with other workers, managers, clients, customers, vendors, and other people they interact within the workplace. These skills and professional attributes are also important for successful professional networking, and for managing your own career growth.

Source: The Balance

About ifc Mandarin Connection – Learn Mandarin Chinese in Hong Kong

If you want to feel life and love, just learn a new language. Learn Mandarin Chinese with expert trainers from IFC MANDARIN CONNECTION. We specialized in training business professionals for multinational companies since 1995. The Mandarin courses are designed for business professionals to help you take your career to the next level and build your business network.