Coronavirus has had a drastic impact on the job market in South Africa and many people are facing hardship, unemployment, and redundancy as a result. We have compiled a guide to help you identify what prospective employers are looking for and help you with your job seeking process.
Adaptability and Resilience
Adaptability is highly sought after at the moment as employers try to balance operational management with staffing levels and cost. This means that flexible working hours have become increasingly favoured as well as making sure that employees can cope with altering work environments and duties.
Businesses all over the country are facing tough decisions, and many are struggling to stay operational from one week to the next. This means that employers are looking for team players that can contribute in challenging situations and work unaided when required.
Examples of words to use on your CV or application are:
· Adaptable
· Resilient
· Flexible
· Co-operative
Digital Skills and Analytics
It’s no secret that the workplace is quickly becoming more technology focused, and we are now well and truly progressing to a fully realised digital age. Of course, this means that computer skills are not only the norm now, but also skills that are much more technical are required.
If you can, you should look to improve on your computer skills during your job search. With plenty of tutorials and guides online and on YouTube, this could be the perfect opportunity to add a valuable skill to your overall skillset and without spending money.
Leadership Skills
It’s not just ‘new’ skillsets though, and sometimes the traditional skills are equally as important as the modern ones. One of the primary drivers that an employer has when employing someone is how passionate they are about the company vision.
Leadership, in this respect, doesn’t necessarily mean the general manager or the department head. Instead, employers are looking for individuals that will create a sense of community within the team, lead by example, and work towards the common company goal
Emotional Intelligence
You should aim to demonstrate that you are professional, courteous, polite, and conscientious when going about your work duties. One of the key considerations an employer will make during the hiring process is where you will fit into the current team and how well you will integrate.
It is your job to convince them that you are going to make the workplace happy and stress free, including that you can work well with others. While leadership is about highlighting situations where you have helped lead a team, or even worked independently to drive a company forward, emotional intelligence is about showing that you can work well in the background without the need for credit.
Looking for Work After COVID-19?
The truth is, COVID-19 might still be with us for the next year (or even years to come) so looking for work now is not going to be an easy endeavour, unless you have a highly prized skillset. That shouldn’t deter you though as there are many industries that are going to be provided with a lot of governmental support over the next year and they will undoubtedly need to hire more people.
Take this opportunity to update your CV, evaluate your skillset against the needs of employers and then position yourself to be the candidate that they need.