International employers have the pick of the cream of the crop when it comes to selecting a multicultural workforce. They can call upon people from all corners of the globe in order to fulfil roles in international markets.
However, there are certain skills that employers look for when selecting professionals for international roles.
Obviously, there are ‘hard skills’ (your degree in Law, or five years’ experience working for a London law firm) that are required in order to be able to complete the task required, but have you ever considered the ‘soft skills’ that employers are looking for when selecting international business professionals?
These ‘soft skills’ play a vital role in your ability to perform well, complete tasks with ease, and work successfully with others.
Here’s a taster of the top five soft skills needed when choosing an international career:
1. Communication
Communication is an all-encompassing word for your ability to convey ideas, feelings, emotions and concepts to others, either through written or verbal methods.
Your ability to communicate with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and locations will affect your ability to influence your peers, work colleagues and clients.
Your boss will want to know that you are confident at negotiating, selling, or even challenging senior management when required.
Communication is key to successful international business dealings, and it is worth considering extra training for communication skills, including learning the basics of the language for the country in which you’ll be relocating).
This communication training might include methods for improved presentations, intercultural awareness, or confidence building, and can play a vital part in your ability to secure, and succeed in overseas positions.
2. Resilience
No one has escaped making mistakes at some point in their life – we all do it, it’s what makes us human.
Our resilience is our ability to learn from, and recover quickly from, these mistakes, life experiences or failures. It is success in the face of adversity, perseverance in hard times, and hope throughout hardships.
Our capacity to bounce back from failure, adapt to problems, find solutions and maintain drive and positivity are key qualities that employers look for when choosing employees for international roles.
Resilience training is available to help you increase and expand your existing resilience, and employers will often select prospective employees based on their resilience levels.
3. Co-operation
Being a ‘team player’ is another prerequisite ‘soft skill’ that international employers look for among their professional staff.
If people like you, find you amiable and authentic, they are more inclined to help you and want to assist you in achieving goals.
Co-operation between employees is an essential part of being a team. If you fully understand others’ perspectives, existing company dynamics and psychologies of colleagues, then you are in a better position to be able to relate to people.
Cross-cultural training is a great way to improve your capacity for co-operation, especially when working with people from different cultural backgrounds as it can give you insights into differences in perspectives, habits, and behaviours.
For instance, if you have worked in London for the last few years for an international law firm with a head office in Dubai, it would be advisable to seek training that offers insights into the Arabic culture, language, and business etiquette, as this will enable a greater understanding of others within the firm. This allows you the opportunity to work together towards common goals, communicate without cultural obstacles, and gain insights into other perspectives.
4. Originality
Originality, creativity, novelty, innovation…call it what you like, but it all comes down to your skill of being able to think ‘outside of the box’.
Employees who are creative in their approach to problem solving are highly prized by international employers as they are able to effectively spot potential opportunities, seize the moment, and make decisions.
The constant changes in today’s business world require an originality of mind, allowing you to re-frame issues as they arise in order to find creative solutions.
While it may be true that originality can’t be taught, it is possible to evolve your own creativity by learning new ways to approach issues, considering other opinions and views, and exploring new methodologies for problem solving.
5. Mindfulness
This is somewhat of a buzzword at present in offices, universities, and workplaces all around the globe, however, you’ll see why it is a skill employers covet, when you consider the following:
In essence, mindfulness, is your ability to remain conscious (focused and aware) of something, someone, yourself, your surroundings, and your feelings, in the present moment, no matter what else is going on around you.
The reasoning behind international employers demanding ‘mindful’ employees, is due to the fact that self-awareness is a fundamental part of leadership, and allows those who are competent at it to lead, motivate, and inspire others, even when the going gets tough.
Mindfulness courses are available around the world and include techniques such as, meditation, yoga, acceptance, and breathing methods in order to inspire you to remain focused and self-aware.
These soft skills are talents that can be learned, and mastered, with professional training and repetition. If you are planning an international role within the workplace it is worth considering additional training of soft skills to boost your chances of success.
Recent Comments