First job: understand which skills will be important
Starting out in professional life is a healthy challenge for anyone. Thus, the first job is the starting point and can also be the key point for an employee to have a good performance in their professional life.
In addition to a resume with good education, specializations and varied courses , the requirements for admission to the job market also include other areas: personal characteristics that allow for good business functioning. In the relationship between employees in the same sector, across sectors, and from the same or different hierarchies within the company, some skills, especially among young people , are highly valued by recruiters and business leaders.
These soft skills are known as soft skills and facilitate the flow of information and the execution of tasks and functions within the company – although they can also be useful outside of work. In order to help potential candidates, we have listed some of the most relevant skills to help you get hired and do well in your first job!
Good communication
One of the first things that makes humans different from other animals is their rationality and communication. By this, we mean that we have the ability to communicate in an extremely rich and efficient way. However, are we always at our best when it comes to communication? Not really. Misunderstandings, ambiguities and lack of clarity are part of everyday life and can often be avoided.
Expressing yourself well requires personal development and resourcefulness, with a balance between each person’s spontaneity and authenticity and the recognition of the other person’s limits and sensitivities. To get there, there are two steps that can help.
Listen carefully
Listening openly to try to understand what your manager or coworker is saying is essential in any professional experience. Even more so in the case of a first job. Without any professional experience, everything will be a great learning experience. From the biggest responsibilities and functions to the smallest details of day-to-day life, clarifying instructions and orders and seeking the greatest possible understanding will give the new employee more security and peace of mind regarding their position.
Listening well is crucial when receiving instructions and also for nurturing good working relationships. Which brings us to the next step.
Accept feedback
Also relevant in the field of what we can and how we can hear, accepting feedback is what allows professional development. This can be the driving force at any point in your career and in the case of your first job, it is essential. After all, how can you be aware of the good performance of your duties if you are unable to listen to and reflect on the leader’s observations about the work done?
Flexibility
In addition to communicating well, being flexible to the adverse conditions that may be part of the job is essential. In the context of a first job, flexibility is what the employee needs to operate well in circumstances that, for various reasons, are not ideal at the time. Since the tasks of different sectors are interconnected, it makes sense to produce as much as possible and, therefore, not delay the work of others.
Teamwork
Being able to work in a team is a very valuable skill. Finding the middle ground between what you want to do and what is feasible to do in a pair or group can be difficult and, therefore, a path to professional development. In your first experience in a job, it can be the difference that makes a trial contract become an indefinite contract.
Initiative
In addition to all this, the initiative skill is the way an idea becomes a practice, a project or a plan. Simply watching a problem unfold is not beneficial to the company and is not necessary if you have the assertive initiative to find out what is going on and what you, in your role, can do to help find a solution. Or even share a suggestion to solve the problem.
Troubleshooting
In continuity, the ability to solve unexpected problems in the sector is important so that adversity does not bring the entire company system to a halt. With logical reasoning, the skills we mentioned and knowledge of the company in which one works, it is possible and desirable to propose solutions to obstacles, allowing good individual, sectoral and business-wide performance.
Business vision
We also understand that an important skill is to have a broad vision of the company, understanding even the processes in which one is not involved, how they affect one’s work and vice versa. This provides professional maturity, as the employee will realize that the result of his/her efforts is in a cascade that involves all functions, including external situations that directly affect the company. The business climate, the state of trade, etc.
Without a doubt, being curious to stay up to date and aware of the complexity of business operations is an excellent skill and can be very beneficial if practiced from your first job.
How important is the first job?
In conclusion, how important is it to enter the professional world? Of course, it may not be the best experience, perhaps precisely because it is the first, but it will be the opportunity to start getting to know your own profile better and in which roles, sectors and tasks you are good at. In other words, the first job will not only leave your mark on the company, it will be the chance to develop the skills that will make the individual a good professional in future experiences as well.
In fact, the skills mentioned are not innate and that is precisely why they can be trained and improved. Some will be learned very naturally and others more difficult. What is relevant in this case is that the first job is the opportunity to enter the business world and recognize your own strengths and weaknesses. Self-knowledge is also a valued soft skill that is constantly related to the others.
In short, your first job is the perfect opportunity to learn how to learn. Even if you arrive at a company with a great resume, the experience can always surprise you. Good luck!
