Underrated Job Skills You Already Have That Can Reinvent Your Career

When you’re applying to jobs, it’s easy to feel blocked by the long lists of qualifications and skills companies ask for.

The need for “5+ years” experience using various tools and platforms might seem overwhelming.

Before you fall into a black hole of intimidation, know that you most likely have most of the skills necessary.

If you don’t, don’t think even for a second that you can’t learn something new.

Some employers will want you to have specific skills— but a lot of the time, they want to hear that you’re excited to learn about them.

Because, at the end of the day, even the “perfect” candidate isn’t going to know everything.

Here are some examples of all the underrated skills you probably have been sharpening all along in your career.

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1. Expressing yourself clearly/public speaking

We don’t necessarily mean “public speaking” in a get-up-on-the-stage way (although that is a highly-marketable skill).

In this context, speaking in public means being confident enough in yourself and your ideas that you can speak up in a group setting, among your colleagues and when facing management.

Being able to speak well in front of others isn’t just a soft skill – it is how your preparedness, poise and potential is weighed and measured.

Knowing what it is that you want to communicate, how you want that message to be perceived, and what you’d like to get out of it is so important for any and every role you’ll have at work.

2. Knowing how to present information & being influential

In so many cases in life, you need to persuade people to do the thing you want them to do even if you’re not sure they’ll go for it.

And that takes great packaging of words.

Knowing how to use language in the most impactful way that will lead to a positive reaction is super vital.

3. Connecting Others

There are those who network for personal good, to promote a cause and to find a job.

Then there are those who live to connect; who, every time they meet someone new, look at that person with nothing but sincerity and say: “You know who you need to meet?”

This is something we should all aspire to.

4. Being polite

Using “please” and “thank you” in your communication. Saying “sorry” when you mean it, or even if it’s just a filler word that diffuses a situation.

Starting emails with “Hope all is well!” even if you have no time.

These things really make all the difference. And if you apply them in your day-to-day life, then you’ve probably noticed the effects already.

People generally respond better to genuine kindness.

5. Your curiosity

Using your curiosity and eagerness to learn everything you possibly can about what interests you is honestly just as valuable as your degree.

Showing your managers that you’re interested in aspects of the business that aren’t “in your lane” proves that you’re excited to grow in the company and that you’re not afraid of challenges or changes.

6. Displaying Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is not only a highly in-demand soft skill; it is perhaps the greatest of them all.

With a low EQ, we are unable to listen to criticism or ask good questions. We are incapable of working collaboratively.

We are reluctant to listen to those with whom we don’t agree, even when they have a solution to the challenge we’re collectively facing.

Which of these career skills do you think you’ve mastered? More importantly, how will you embrace learning these skills as you build your career?