Qualities Employers Seek
Almost every career requires such skills as listening,speaking,reading,writing,decision making,researching,reasoning,creativity,persuasion,leadership,interpersonal communication,and organization.In addition, a number of characteristics that may be important for specific jobs:achievement,aggressiveness1),ambition,dependability,discipline,honesty,initiative,motivation,people orientation2),persistence,responsibility,self-confidence,self-starting,sensitivity,sincerity,tenacity,and tough-mindedness.The way you acquire these skills and behaviours is,to a great extent,up to you.Without them,no matter how bright and knowledgeable you may be,landing a t op job is extremely difficult,if not impossible.The most likely way to obtain these skills and behaviours is through courses,reading,internships3),part-time or full time employment,extracurricular activities,and participation in community functions.
Knowing what an employer is looking f or in a potential employee can help an applicant to prepare for an interview.An interviewer for a major corporation was asked these questions:What specific skills are you looking for in applicants?And how do you identify these skills?He responded:
Most important for us in the way of skills is the ability to communicate--can people speak clearly?Can they articulate the kind of person they believe themselves to be?In what kind of work situations do they perform well?What are their strengths and weaknesses?We w ant to know about the personal qualities of the individual,so I try to ask questions to draw them out and attempt to find out if they have a sense of themselves.What I'm looking for is an ability to verbalize4) an idea in clear,simple,understandable language.I'm also looking for the ability to listen attentively and then to be able to respond to5) an idea or thought that has been presented to them.If they do have good communication skills,they will be able to do this logically and succinctly.
I am looking for creativity--can they be spontaneous?I will ask some “off-the-wall6)”questions just to see if this throws them.How do they respond in these tough situations--can they be creative with their answers?This is very important when they are out in business situations with customers.They will have to respond to very sudden changes and problem-solving situations that they are not necessarily familiar with,and I want to know if they can handle them.
What we look for the most are personal qualities--assertiveness,self-motivation,drive,ambition,and a competitive instinct.They should be high achievers and want to work hard.I can usually tell a bout these qualities from the way the person presents himself or herself and some of the activities they have engaged in.I pick up things from the applications and resume--how they have written them and the kinds of things they say.How they present their experiences is often very informative7).For example,an assertive person will say,“I can do these things”and“I decided on this course of action,”whereas a more passive person might say,“These are the experiences I have had.”All of these things describe the person in some way.
雇主尋求的品質(zhì)
幾乎每種職業(yè)都需要諸多技能,如聽、說、讀、寫、決策、調(diào)研、推理、創(chuàng)造、勸服、領(lǐng)導(dǎo)、搞好人際關(guān)系以及組織協(xié)調(diào)。除此之外,某些工作還需要如下特質(zhì):有成就、不斷進(jìn)取、雄心勃勃、值得信賴、紀(jì)律性強(qiáng)、忠誠老實(shí)、開創(chuàng)精神、工作動(dòng)力、了解他人、堅(jiān)持不懈、有責(zé)任感、自信、主動(dòng)、敏銳、真誠、執(zhí)著和堅(jiān)韌不拔等。獲取這些技能和行為的方式在很大程度上取決于你自己。不具備它們,不管你多么聰明,多么有見識(shí),你都很難(如果不是不可能的話)獲得一流的工作。通過上課、讀書、實(shí)習(xí)、半日或全日工作、課外活動(dòng),以及參加社區(qū)服務(wù)活動(dòng)是獲取這些技能和行為的最可行的途徑。
了解雇主欲從求職者身上尋求什么有助于應(yīng)聘者做面試準(zhǔn)備。一位大型公司的面試官曾被問及這樣的問題:你在求職者身上尋找什么特定的技能?你又是如何辨出這些技能的?他答道:
在技能上,對我們最為重要的是交流的能力---他們能清楚地表達(dá)自己嗎?他們能清楚地說明他們是他們所認(rèn)為的那種人嗎?在什么樣的工作條件下他們表現(xiàn)出色?他們的長處和弱點(diǎn)是什么?我們想知道每個(gè)求職者的個(gè)人品質(zhì),所以我的提問是要發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的個(gè)人品質(zhì),并弄清他們是否有自我意識(shí)。我所尋求的是一種用簡明易懂的語言說清某種想法的能力。我也尋求他們有一種在認(rèn)真聽講后,對講給他們的某個(gè)主意或想法做出回應(yīng)的能力。如果他們有良好的交際能力,他們便能條理分明、簡明扼要地做到這一點(diǎn)。
我尋求創(chuàng)造力---他們能否自發(fā)主動(dòng)?我會(huì)問一些“離奇古怪”的問題看看他們是否無所適從。在難對付的情況下他們?nèi)绾畏磻?yīng)---他們的回答會(huì)有創(chuàng)意嗎?這點(diǎn)在他們外出與客戶談生意時(shí)是相當(dāng)重要的。他們將不得不應(yīng)付突如其來的變化和他們不一定熟悉的需要馬上解決問題的情況,而我想知道他們能否處理得了。
我們最想尋求的個(gè)人品質(zhì)是:果斷、主動(dòng)、有干勁、雄心勃勃、有競爭意識(shí)。他們應(yīng)該富有成就,愿意努力工作。我通常能夠通過他們展示自己的方式和他們曾參加過的活動(dòng)判斷出他們所具有的個(gè)人品質(zhì)。我從應(yīng)聘書和個(gè)人簡歷中---他們怎么寫自己和他們寫些什么---來發(fā)現(xiàn)線索。他們?nèi)绾握故咀约旱慕?jīng)歷往往能告訴我們許多情況。比如說,一個(gè)果敢的人會(huì)說,“我能做這些事”或“我決定采取如此行動(dòng)”,而一個(gè)較為被動(dòng)的人則可能說,“這就是我的經(jīng)歷。”所有這些會(huì)在一定程度上描繪出一個(gè)人的品質(zhì)。
NOTE 注釋:
aggressiveness [E5^resivnis] n. 積極進(jìn)取
orientation [7C(:)rien5teiFEn] n. 定位
internship [`Int:nFIp] n. 實(shí)習(xí)
verbalize [5vE:bElaiz] v. 描述
respond to 反應(yīng),回應(yīng)
off-the-wall adj. 異乎尋常的,古怪的
informative [in5fC:mEtiv] adj. 提供信息的