Specific Behaviors Increase Job Security

Here are some skills we all need on the job—whatever that job may be. These eight behavioral skills cross all functional boundaries and are known as transferable or soft skills. They are based on a sequence of learnable behaviors that increase your ability to deliver superior performance, no matter your area of expertise. 

1.      Technical Skills 

(These are not necessarily skills having to do with technology but, rather, what it takes to do your work.)

• • Gaining technical skills.
  • Maintaining these technical skills. 
  • Developing these technical skills relevant to your work.

2.      Critical Thinking Skills

• • Strategic thinking. 
  • Analytical skills.
  • Quantitative analysis.
  • Problem-solving skills.

3.      Persuasive Communication Skills

• • Speaking.
  • Listening.
  • Writing.
  • Fluency in digital communications.
  • Presenting.
  • Personal branding.
  • Body language.
  • Emotional intelligence. 

4.      Personal Organization Skills

• • Time management. 
  • Prioritization and organization.
  • Multitasking. 

5.      Manageability Skills

• • Taking direction.
  • Listening.
  • Implementation.

6.      Teamwork Skills

• • Working for the good of the team to support departmental goals.

7.      Leadership Skills

• • Leading by example, being a power for good and working toward desirable outcomes.
  • Applying the other behaviors to each of your job's deliverables. 

8.      Creativity Skills

• • When the above skills are well-developed and work in harmony, creativity is most likely to occur and coalesce into a successful plan of action. 

We've discussed a wide range of skills that will help you keep your job in difficult times. Not surprisingly, they are also the same skills that help you climb the ladder of professional success in good times.

Bestselling author Martin Yate, a career coach and former HR professional, takes your questions each week about how to further your career in HR. 

 From big issues to small, please feel free to e-mail your queries to YourCareerQA@shrm.org. We'll only publish your first name and city, unless you prefer to remain anonymous—just let us know.