Communication and Employability
By Shane Bowen
Specific Skills
There is a variety of different attributes that are used in the work place. Some are valued by employers more than others. These attributes make an employee stand out so they get a better chance of getting the job they have applied for. Attributes that employers look for include:
Technical knowledge:
Technical Knowledge is valued by employers because it shows them that you understand the software and hardware you are using. This is important because if you specialize in using windows and visual basic, but the software and hardware you are using is mac and java, you will not be able to use it to your fullest. It is also useful to learn a wide variety of software and hardware, because this will make you a more valued employee and you will have a better chance of getting a job.
Health and Safety:
Health and Safety is also looked for by employers because they need to keep all their employees safe in the work place and the law makes them. But they also look for a health and safety certificate because it shows you know how to take precautions and that you are aware of your surroundings can prevent an accident happening. eg: not wearing static clothing while repairing or messing around with a computer. You show you know health and safety by showing the employer a health and safety certificate.
General Attributes
Time management is a very useful skill that employers look for because you may get multiple pieces of work that needs to be in by a certain time and date so you need to plan ahead so you know you will have time to get all your work done. If you can show you have good time management you have a good chance of getting the job over someone who hasn't.
Written Communication Skills:
Written communication skills is always looked for in an interview because being able to communicate effectively in a report tells the employer you can write reports or other pieces of work that may be needed. You can show you have a good written communication skill by showing the employer that you have passed English or by having any experience.
Attitudes
Determined:
Determination is a good thing for employers to see because if you are determined it shows that you are willing to any complete any task they put in front of you to the best of your ability. For Example you still get all your work done when you don't have much time to do it.
Self motivation:
Employers look for self motivational employees because it tells them that you are a punctual and hard working individual. For example, being in on time for work.
Effective Communication
General communication is very important in everyday life. This section of communication involves things such as projecting your voice and getting your audience involved, these things will be used everyday with all the people you talk to, such as changing the pitch or tone of your voice to make sure the person you are talking to understands your mood and emotion your trying to put across. You might hit some barriers while using general communication. One of these barriers may be that there is a language difference for example English football is a totally different sport to American football in this case you would have to change certain words to fit their language.
Interpersonal Skills:
Interpersonal skills are life skills we use every day. These skills include verbal communication meaning how we can be confident about saying certain things, non-verbal communication for example body language, eye contact and sometimes sign language, listening skills is how you know what people are saying and it makes is easier to work in a team to get jobs done quicker. You may come across barriers with interpersonal skills such non-verbal communication for example sign language, to overcome this barrier you would have to be able to know sign language,but there is also the potential problem of trying to communicate via sign language with one hand or both because America choose to communicate with sign language differently.
Communication in writing:
Communication in writing is a skill you use while writing to people for example letters and emails or even reading over writing. While communicating in writing it is very important that you remember to include punctuation and grammar, this is important because it is very difficult to understand a piece of writing if you leave it out. Good writing communication skills is good to have because it helps you to pick out relevant information from other peoples writing for example scanning a book for quotes.
Barriers Of Effective Communication
Background noise can be a big barrier if you are in a conference call or speaking over the phone. It drowns out the voice of the person who is speaking making it hard for the person who is trying to listen to hear what they are trying to say.
distractions:
Distractions can get in the way of effective communication by taking someone's attention off a person who wants them to listen or it could be the other way around and the person who is speaking can get distracted and stop speaking as clearly.
physical barriers:
A Physical barrier that can effect communication is trying to talk through objects for example if there was a window between the speaker and the listener it may distort the speakers voice making it hare for the listener to understand what the speaker is trying to say.
location:
Location can also be a barrier of effective communication for example if you are using a cellular device to speak to someone and you are in an area that doesn't get much signal then your voice could start to break up and make it hard for the listener to hear or understand you.
lack of concentration:
A lack of concentration is also a barrier of effective communication for example if you are listening to someone tell a story and they start to lose concentration their story that they are trying to tell you will no longer start to make sense and they will get their words mixed up. This can also happen the other way round if the listener loses concentration it just shows you are not communicating effectively if you are not listening.