Life or Organizational: What Skills Do You Bring to the Job?
One question you've likely heard at job interviews is, "What skills do you bring to the job?" Interviewers usually ask this to learn about your abilities and experiences. They also want to know if you fit the role you're applying for
Skills are important in any job. They're a mix of your knowledge, ability, and confidence. You develop them while growing up or through training. Companies look for soft and hard skills when looking for new workers. But life and organizational skills are also important.
You may be wondering: What are life skills? What are organizational skills? What are the differences between the two? And more importantly, how can they help you with your job? Read on to learn about both skills and why you need them for work.
What are Life Skills?
Life skills are abilities that help you make good decisions, solve problems, and build connections. You learn more life skills as you grow. For instance, moving out in your 20s teaches you about freedom and budgeting. Meanwhile, parenting teaches you about self-control and compassion.
Other life skills you'll likely learn and develop over time include:
- Balancing finances and priorities
- Cleaning
- Cooperation
- Driving
- Flexibility
- Taking initiative
- Making organized lists
- Managing stress
- Shopping
- Studying
Life skills are also important in every job. People with strong life skills tend to be more mature and professional. They know how to handle issues, manage their time, and ask or give help. Taking the initiative helps you speed up work and meet deadlines. Managing priorities also allows you to reach a work-life balance.
You'll likely get hired or recognized at work with strong life skills. Work with other people, accept challenges, and set goals to improve them over time.
What are Organizational Skills?
Organizational skills, on the other hand, are abilities that help you finish tasks and manage your time and energy. These skills allow you to live an orderly life. They can be as simple as getting out of bed on time or cleaning your room.
They are harder when doing your job. For example, working as a secretary needs appointment setting skills. You also need goal-setting skills to work as a manager
Other organizational skills you'll likely need to include are:
- Checking outputs
- Answering emails
- Cleaning data
- Planning events
- Managing stocks
- Multitasking
- Organizing thoughts
- Reading comprehension
- Logical reasoning
- Reporting work progress
Organizational skills help you work better with managers and fellow employees. They also improve your communication, active listening, and problem-solving skills. Having these abilities makes you more attractive to potential employers. After all, what good would hard skills do if you're not organized at work?
How you organize your life and work affects your productivity and outputs. As such, you should develop important organizational skills because they're important in getting a job. They may even help you get a promotion or land more career opportunities in the future.
Put Your Skills to Work
Both life and organizational skills are important in any job. However, you don't need to pressure yourself into having them as they develop over time. The key is continuously learning and improving these skills. You can enroll in online courses, attend workshops, and join internships to work on them.
Developing these skills will help you properly answer the question, "What skills do you bring to the job?" Learning them will also help you through life and its many challenges.
Visit Career.com to start your job hunting journey and put your skills to work. We feature jobs by skills to ensure you land a job that matches your knowledge, ability, and confidence. You can check customer service, accounting, and even home care jobs. Check out Career.com today to look for skills-based jobs!
