Is a strong personal brand as important in this tight job market? Yes – if you have the right skills! Companies are FRUSTRATED with not getting their needs for talent met and are desperately looking for people with the right skills and fit.

Whether you are a job seeker, looking for better opportunities or a consultant selling your services, your ability to stand out is heightened when you demonstrate the core skills needed by organizations across industries, regardless of size.

These core skills reflect not only what you can do, but also how you think, and how committed you are to self-awareness and communicating effectively. Even the most brilliant and skilled talent will not go the distance if they cannot connect and collaborate with today’s diverse workforce.

According to Work Institute, 47,000,000 employees in the U.S. – roughly 1 in 3 – are projected to leave their jobs this year. It will cost employers roughly 1/3 of the annual salary to replace that employee. The motivation is high for organizations to solve this "revolving door" problem. And yet, many employers are taking the same tired approach to hiring talent and wondering why employees keep leaving. Many don’t understand what’s going wrong. They might benefit from your perspective and skills and not know it.

How can you clearly communicate and demonstrate your value to an organization when they may not realize how much they can benefit from you? Start by gaining an understanding of their needs and pain points by asking good open-ended
questions. Secondly, tie your skills, using their language, to the solutions they seek. Sounds easier than it is. It takes research, analysis, resources and preparation for most of us.

Part of your ability to tie your skills to their needs is to understand the bigger picture – what is happening in the larger scope of global trends and changing technology – that is affecting their business? How can they bridge the wide divide (between generations, cultures, gender, race) in their diverse workforce/customer base?
According to McKinsey Global Institute in a study of navigating the future, social and emotional skills (communication and empathy), along with
higher cognitive skills (critical thinking, creativity) will be most in demand in the next decades, especially due to technological advances such as artificial intelligence. The study also references the need for evolving to a growth mindset: “Lifelong learning …will need to become a large-scale
reality.”*
Clearly, there is no quick fix (Ahhh heck!) There IS a path forward that enhances both your understanding of the dynamics involved and how you can apply new knowledge to enhance your communication skills and your ability to demonstrate how you can bring value. Whether or not they have a clear understanding of what they are looking for, many organizations are ready and waiting to hear from those standouts who can bring value in better meeting their needs and objectives. Reach out to me to find out how we can help!
* Mckinsey Global Institute, Navigating a world of disruption, Briefing Note Jan. 2019.