The reason is extremely simple: Colleges are "universal" everywhere (in some developed countries, a master's degree is required when apply for a job), employers will need to add other elements to select the most suitable ones.
So what do employers need?
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has released the results of the survey in 2014, in which HR professionals will tell us what skills they most appreciated in recruiting. You may be surprised with "top 10" skills below:
- Teamwork ability;
- Ability to make decisions and solve problems;
- The ability to communicate with others (both inside and outside the enterprise);
- Ability to plan, organize and division of work, receive and process information.
You can see all above elements are soft skills which could help people work together more effectively. And all is determined by EQ. Therefore, you would be hard to find a specific course in school only teach these skills.
- Ability to analyze data on technological knowledge related to work
- Ability to use computer software fluently. Ability to write / edit reports
- Sales ability and influential to others
The next 5 skills in the ranking focus more on specific skills including the ability to analyze, writing skills and proficiency in the use of computers
Analysis capabilities are increasingly appreciated
If you look closely a little bit, we can see the importance of analytical capabilities are increasing rapidly due to the above skills more or less relate to the ability to make decisions based on data analysis. The world is filled with digital technology, if you are not proficient in the use of computers and data processing, it will make you become less prominent in the eyes of employers. So Vietnam Manpower advises you should really focus on this skill in 2015.
Of course, only analytical ability is not enough if you ignore soft skills.
Soft skills are paramount
If you feel EQ is significantly affected to job applicant, consider the following:
Have you ever highlighted your soft skills in CV? It may seem complicated, but the reality is much simpler. For example, you can list work experience and manage a team, it will be easier to score in the eyes of employers whenever industries you are in: Constructions jobs, engineer jobs, offshore jobs, hospitality industry, etc . However, make sure what you write in CV is the same with answers in the interview.
Do you want to change yourself? If you find yourself still not completed 1 of 5 above soft skills, learn how to improve it. For example, you have problems with time management and teamwork, take the time to read a book or take a certain course to help you improve and mention your changes (if appropriate) in the interview.
All efforts have been recognized by employer. Have you ever received comments about yourself? If you are not sure whether your soft skills were good enough or not, do not hesitate to talk to friends and close colleagues about this. The specific comments from them will point out weaknesses that you need to overcome.
Besides, in the above survey, 71% of responses rated EQ is more important than IQ in recruitment. This is probably what we have heard so far, but I think this is worth to recall. So, make sure your soft skills are always trained and cultivated every day because it was never redundant in the current trend.
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