Categories
Career Advancement Self Improvement Working Environment

6 Key Points to Identify Your Strength at Work

What are your best strengths? Do you know? If not, try to sit down and write them up.

For the most time, because of our own personal pride, we think we know everything. When people do ask us what our strengths are, our answers are either ambiguous, all over the place and not to the point. We are not able to articulate usefully or informatively, the strengths that we have and what benefit it can bring to our workplace.

We decide to just “explain it away” or “go with the flow” and just articulate this in our own personal style that it runs the risk of being vague and fake when it reaches the ears of another. I’m sure you’ve met people or even know some who think they know everything. Their ego is the size of a truck and to the experienced recruiter, fake and bloated statements can be easily deciphered. This being the case, be humble so you don’t blow that precious interview.

Here are some six strengths that everyone should have in today’s workforce, sought out by employers.

1. The strength of working under pressure.

2. The strength of communication, inspiration and teamwork mobilisation.

3. The strength of foresight and time management.

4. The strength of work maturity and staying power.

5. The strength of character and avoiding strife.

6. The strength of wisdom and learning up meaningful work experience.

Let’s get started!

1. The strength of working under pressure.

To an employer, having a staff who doesn’t crack under pressure and able to keep things together is like having the Holy Grail. Employers are really always on the lookout for such strong people as they can give them an edge in their business. Employers can also relax and destress themselves when they know that they can leave some of the affairs of the company to them if they were to take an MC or some time off.

This type of strength is not very hard to see in the workplace. A lot of Malaysians have it, but it’s not balanced well at times due the work demands itself. Often, employers do not appreciate such a candidate and do take them for granted, sometimes channeling undue amounts of stress on these employees with the thinking that they should be able to handle it. It’s logical for the long term for both parties to work together to manage pressure, deadlines and stress.

If you’re an employer, you need a type of strength too, which is the conscience ability to measure the amount of stress and hardship to employees whom you know can handle these stress levels and deliver results to you. But, if you do not affine to acquire this knowledge, you might suffer some serious bad setbacks such as employees giving up on you and quitting.

2. The strength of communication, inspiration and teamwork mobilisation.

If you can lead and inspire, you’re a natural leader. But if you can be a superstar, the life of the party. If when you speak, everyone tunes in, then you’re magnetic. Most people are drawn to you by your personality so let’s say you wanted to raise funds for a good cause, it seems everyone wants in. Perhaps you’re a nice person but more that that, you’re an accomplisher of great feats and those around you want to be a part of everything you do. Perhaps all this starts with the right starting point… when you open your mouth and say the right things.

3. The strength of foresight and time management.

The ability to know your job in and out gives you the added ability to see what’s coming ahead of you in the future,.. what you can force will likely happen when you take Step A or Step B and so on. This is a great asset in any discipline. It requires great experience, reasoning and intelligence. Such a mind can be acquired by reading a lot. In this case books and papers written by major industry players and career trainers.

There are reasons why those who dabble in the open share market read all the financial news they can get their hands on. To understand the trends, minds, prospects and even the fears of the financial system. To be expertly wary and still enter this high stakes world requires that much foresight.

As for managing time, we all know that this is self explanatory but we’ll leave you with one thought, “Time is the most valued commodity and everything we do has to do with time”.

4. The strength of work maturity and staying power.

Have you ever had the habit of quitting your job just like that? If so, why?

As we have said in previous posts, you must have a very good reason to quit your job, if not, you’ve been an immature person, doing things by mere feelings. Living in a fantasy world of right and wrong by your own feelings is not just unwise, but downright immature. Perhaps you don’t like your boss because of his beliefs which have nothing at all to do with you or some other thing about him. Sure many people don’t like their employer but don’t advertise those feelings by reacting.

Instead, think wisely and play the game. Use whatever issue that’s troubling you to your advantage. You’re supposed to be a professional who can work with anyone and communicate at all levels – remember that job description?

So why complain when you can channel your inner, impartial professional and start building a relationship with your boss. Find common ground such as the challenges that he is facing in the overall business and how you can come and add much needed value by addressing some of those challenges. Bring in your vast ability, even your influence to get more than your piece of the job done. Instant promotion! There are so many young talent wasted and lost because of the wrong, strictly employee mindset when what bosses these days really expect out of young people/millennials are new ideas and new solutions to get them to new heights especially in emerging markets. One more thing.., stay longer on that job and don’t do job hopping.

5. The strength of character and avoiding strife.

A wise mentor once said, “You can never break relationships”. Yes, as we work together in a team, that team becomes a strong unit. A lot of achievements can be realised. This of course, again, needs a ringleader. He or she will keep the team going on and on, even on weekends. That solid relationship is built and there is almost nothing that the team will not do for each other.

The one thing that can destroy this harmony is the words called “strife”. Strife happens, when someone feels that nothing that’s been done is enough. It can come from anyone on the team, even from the top. It will be much better if it can be repackaged as a challenge just like other challenges. But strife often comes from other root causes like inadequacy, unacceptance, rejection and jealousy. We don’t want to sound like psychologists here, but strife and rejection followed by some of the above could be the main causes of team break-ups in a company. Therefore, it takes a strong down to earth leader of character to keep things together even when it’s hard.

6. The strength of wisdom and learning up meaningful work experience

Wisdom is the final strength and value that you can attain as you maintain this course and mindset while being either a junior staff till you become a leader of a team. Wisdom, not feeling allows for good judgement in any situation. The final amalgamation of all the traits listed above. If it has taken emotion to quit a job, it takes wisdom to stay, give value, lead and work hard, especially for someone you don’t like.

Denying yourself a seemingly hard work experience or challenge and then leaving the company at a time when you were the only one who could have been expected to solve that challenge just denies you a rich work experience – of a hard problem solved and put down as one of your greatest achievements in your resume.

Are you prepared?