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(host) The skills to pay the bills. It's a saying that you might hear from time to time, but what skills are we talking about? In sports or movies or magic, these skills are fairly obvious. You can either save the day, win the game, or make everyone disappear. When it comes to the rest of us though, it's not always as clear. If certain skills make you more valuable to employers, what are the most essential skills every job seeker should have?

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(Describer) Title: Talking Jobs.

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Hey, and welcome to all of you career-curious folks out there. I'm Mary Williams, your host, and definitely not a magician. Have you ever heard of life skills, soft skills, hard skills, professional skills, or interpersonal skills? A lot of those are actually the same thing, but workforce professionals are constantly changing how they reference them. For this video, we're going to use one of the other names for them, essential skills, which makes sense to us because they're essential for all of us. If you can master these skills, they will not only make you more hireable, they'll make you the kind of person others want to be around.

(audience members) You're the best! Aww! Love you, girl! Incorporating these essential skills in your personal brand will tell people what they can expect from you. So let's get to it. First and foremost, you need to be able to adapt to whatever happens around you in your workplace or within your field. Adaptability is about being able to pivot when something you were counting on changes. And trust me, things will change. As technology plays a larger role in how work gets done, some traditional careers will be transformed or even eliminated. A key part of being adaptable is your mindset around continuous learning. No, you don't have to go back to school per se, but when a system or process changes, are you able to adopt a new method or way of doing things? Change is always difficult, but workers in every field are dealing with this, and will be for the foreseeable future. So if you want to leg up on your competition, keep your mind open, and be ready to adapt in small and sometimes big ways.

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Next up, effective communication. No matter what type of work you decide to do, being able to communicate effectively is crucial to your success. The ways we communicate are just as important. Communication is better when we all consider the audience, the information you want to share, and the best way to share it. Talking on the phone or face to face, whether in person or virtually, works best when you use a strong, confident speaking voice, make eye contact regularly, engage in active listening, and react friendly and respectfully. No more checking your phone every 30 seconds, folks.

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Especially not in the middle of a meeting,

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or a video shoot.

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Definitely not in the middle of a video shoot. Use these tactics along with planning and practicing what you want to say, and you'll be ready to interact professionally with everyone in no time, gaining respect along the way. Of course, the flip side on this skill is written communication. Whether you're creating a document or sending a tweet or email, being able to write concisely, accurately, and in the correct tone, will reinforce all that good rapport you built in your face-to-face or phone conversations. Seriously though, every workplace has different norms around communication. Some are more casual, some are more buttoned up, but you'll need to get hired to truly find that out. Do that first, and then you can adapt to the situation.

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Nope, not going to check it. Let's look at the next skill.

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Are you someone that can see beyond your job requirements, and figure out ways to improve how things get done? That's good! That makes you a critical thinker. Critical thinking is a process of problem-solving that allows you to find and solve issues without letting emotions or assumptions get in the way. It's being logical and informed. Good critical thinkers can work both independently and with others. This skill is super handy if you want to differentiate yourself from colleagues. And beyond the technical skills you'll need for your specific job, keeping up with technology at your workplace can quickly make you an indispensable team member.

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(Describer) System Failure flashes!

Sorry, give me a second.

(Describer) She types on her laptop. It shuts down. Reboots.

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Let me just adjust the settings, and... Uh-oh.

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[video whirring] And we're back.

See? Problem solved. The takeaway is that being a critical thinker in your job will pay off big time. Whether you're getting around obstacles that are holding up your own work, or saving the day at the next team meeting. Speaking of group work, one of the most important essential skills is collaboration. The old saying, "Two heads are better than one" still holds up today. We can accomplish more together than on our own. Pretty obvious, right? What might not be so obvious is why some teamwork is successful, and other times it's a disaster. To improve collaborations, there are four traits we can all practice. Trust, tolerance, empathy, and self-awareness. Trust is at the foundation of all collaboration. Trust is built over time, just like any relationship, and ultimately, in this scenario, it's about reliability. Trust fall!

(Describer) She falls backward out of sight.

[Mary thumping]

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Okay, so that's not necessary, but reliability is. The next piece, tolerance. It's all about appreciating the values and styles of each team member. Everybody's going to bring something different to the team, and that's a good thing. Embrace it. Especially if it's cookies. With tolerance comes empathy. Empathy is the glue that holds the team together. Practicing empathy helps diffuse conflict, and encourages bonding. Finally, there's self-awareness. It helps you recognize your feelings and concerns so you can express them. And don't forget, it also makes you aware of your motivations and blind spots so you know how it affects everyone on your team. That's true, and feedback from team members can be really helpful for self-growth. But when you do ask for it,

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remember to make time to listen more and talk less. Like I said at the beginning, we all have skills that we bring to any project or career we're exploring.

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I'll admit, some skills are more relevant than others. Regardless of the pathway you're taking, these essential skills are your ticket to maximizing your chances of getting hired and succeeding in your career.

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(Describer) Ohio Department of Education.

(Describer) Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.