Skills and competences: what European employers look for
Candidates who impress are those who make connections between their own needs, skills and beliefs and those of the organisation to which they’re applying. This is as true of a manager in an engineering firm as it is of a partner in a large, commercial law firm.
The skills expected of high-fliers are similar across professions. The trend is to add value to service and to work as part of a team to help the customer. Whichever path your career takes, your appointment will most likely be part of a recruitment strategy where innovation, flexibility and client-facing skills are at a premium. The reason for this is simple: in rich, developed markets people will pay more for the knowledge, the packaging and the quality that surround goods and services. Language skills aside, it’s your ability to add value to your work that will mark you out as an international winner. In this era of online recruiting an employer can take their pick of candidates from Antwerp to Ankara so it’s key that your application addresses and reflects the skills, competences and qualities an employer has asked for and more.
Languages
'Language skills are very important. As the European marketplace becomes more international, organisations are dealing withmore cross-border clients and projects. This has consequences for how organisations recruit: many employers will require staff at every level of an organisation to speak and write English fairly fluently. In an international workplace staff need to be able to communicate with each other, as well as with clients and colleagues in international locations. It’s also beneficial if candidates have spent time studying abroad and if they’re internationally orientated. Most European employers look for candidates who can speak two European languages. Some organisations, like ours, offer internal language programmes to help new staff settle in.'
Judith Drog, human resources manager, DLA Piper Nederland N.V.
Communication skills
'Interacting with people is a big part of any job. In any workplace you will need to communicate, verbally and in writing, with many types of people. Excellent communication skills are vital to a successful career in Europe, as you will be dealing with people from a range of countries and backgrounds. Starting out, language and the different culture and working practices will require a little perseverance. It’s important to listen, observe and to ask for clarification if you don't understand something. Demonstrate these skills by giving clear and well thought-out responses to questions on application forms. When replying to questions during an interview, be concise when giving relevant examples that demonstrate your skills and achievements.'
Ramon Villoldo, marketing manager, Lombard International Assurance S.A.
Teamwork
'The ability to workwell in a teamis essential. Teamworking skills are important, especially in large organisations where people work together in local, international and cross-cultural or remote teams on projects and in their daily work.
During the application and interviewstages, candidates can demonstrate their teamworking skills by providing examples of how they have successfully contributed to group situations during their university studies. An internship or relevant work experience are other good examples to highlight. It is important that candidates clearly define their role in the team, the nature of their contributions and the results they achieved.'
Audrey Grimm, workforce planning specialist, Dow
Commercial awareness
'Commercial awareness is having an understanding of a client’s business and themarket they need to operate in. Commercial awareness is the basis of any successful professional experience. Whether you have in front of you a single client, a big corporate or institution, or even an internal client, the main key success factor is to grasp their needs and offer the best possible solution to them. Candidates demonstrate commercial awareness when they manage to use their academic background together with some professional experience and common sense in order to match the recruiter’s expectations. Once hired, a successful employee will show their commercial awareness by transforming the initial requests into professional and innovative solutions.
Pedro Gonzalo, international campus manager, Societe Generale
The graduate's perspective
'After graduation fromthe University of Cambridge in 2003, I held marketing positions in Moscow and later Grenoble. After three years I was ready for a new challenge and keen to work for an organisation that offered good training opportunities and a mentoring programme. I wanted a position in a large, diverse company where I would have the opportunity to work with different business areas and with different focuses. The biggest challenge has been working in areas where I have no direct experience. However, I discovered there is plenty of support in the formof helpful colleagues andmanagers. Being in a new country and cultural environment is challenging, fascinating and highly enjoyable.'
Christina Gribaleva, international trainee programme, Aker Kvaerner ASA
HR checklist
Human resources departments increasingly think of themselves as being part of the business function, so you can expect them to be concerned about the following key business trends:
1 global competition
2 networks - instead of hierarchies - of employers, managers, suppliers and clients
3 diversity in the workplace and among clients
4 information technology
5 teamwork
6 quality and service ethos
7 knowledge
8 adding value
9 organisation culture
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