10 Basic Elements That Increase Your Employability

Applying for a job is not as simple as fulfilling the requirements enumerated by companies in their job ads or sending out e-mail applications and hoping to receive at least one reply. For those of you who have their own goals in life and a decided career path, here are some tips to help increase your chances of getting the job:

Be on time. An efficient employee is one who considers submitting exactly on the deadline as submitting late. There is no “exact time”—only early and late submissions. This starts as early as your job application. Prepare your documents early, submit them before the application deadline, and arrive early for your interview. Punctuality starts now.

Be organized. In your application, your document format, as well as the flow of your thoughts and words, reflect your organization skills. Going to your job interview prepared physically and mentally is the best way to show how organized you are. Bring extra copies of vital documents and certificates, even if you have e-mailed them before.

Hone your oral communication skills. Do you habitually find yourself lost for words? Not being able to communicate well during an interview can be one of the biggest disadvantages. Practice talking with different people to build confidence, and brush up your vocabulary in preparation for your interview. Fluency and command of an impressive vocabulary is a big plus point. Take note, however, that there is a fine line between being articulate and being too talkative.

Work on your writing skills. You do not want to receive your resume back with red marks all over like a high school essay. Polish your grammar. Read books, review the basics, and do your homework. Take note of your spell checks (those squiggly green lines that appear under your sentences mean something). Practice writing and improving your sentences.

Observe formality in the workplace. Address people with the level of respect they deserve. Simply addressing your interviewer with “ma’am” or “sir” is a good start. Aside from verbal formality, your actions must also show respect. Slouching may reflect apathy, and looking down may be viewed as insincerity.

Be sociable. Contrary to formality, you need to have a certain level of sociability. Be someone whom people can easily talk with on a relational level, but still observe formality in such a way that certain boundaries are respected.

Presentation matters. Make sure that you are presentable at all times. Dress properly for your job interview. Observe proper social etiquette. This also goes for your social media account; avoid posting profanities and (God forbid) nudities.

Update your knowledge of technology. Being familiar with technology is a skill that everyone must possess in the workplace. Familiarity may range from knowing the basics such as MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel, to social media gimmicks and SEOs. You may think that this is just an optional skill for applicants, but once you see the number of applicants who possess far more skills than you, better find another company to apply in. Anyway, learning things with the computer is as easy as searching for tutorial videos on the Internet.

Exhibit leadership. What were your extracurricular activities back in college? Were you active in any organization or a mere shadow walking down the halls of the institution? Leaders are hard to come by because leadership requires a lot of skills— skills polished mostly outside the classroom. The “bibo” kid in your class who held different positions in almost every organization that he/she could join is probably enjoying a managerial position by now. Leadership is a skill and quality that you must build long before graduation.

Innovate. Innovators are those who dared to change and improve something. Applicants who show the potential to improve the company are hard to find, so try to become one. How? Maybe by coming up with a good answer for “why should we hire you?” or “what qualities do you possess that other applicants do not have?” Aside from your self-proclaimed titles and skills, you can add “I have new ideas that I can share to develop the company.” Showing signs that you are not simply there to do menial tasks, but rather to bring a cornucopia of new ideas for them, will definitely make you stand out.

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-6, Sunday, November 16, 2014. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.