How to set yourself apart from the rest? The importance of your social skills and attitude in the job

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For every job available out there, no matter the discipline, we can find hundreds of applicants equally qualified who can fill that position.

A colleague of mine, who worked as Dean of Administration at an academic institution, once told me that no matter how good we are at our job, there will always be someone similarly qualified and willing to do what we do for less money. In other words, we are not indispensable. Although that might sound a bit tough, it is exactly today’s reality, and for that reason, we must be constantly considering the things that we can do to set ourselves apart from the crowd.

It is fairly easy to hire someone (or keep them at a job) based on their technical abilities or skills. However, skills, academic training, technical abilities and even experience are things that anyone can have or achieve. Think about how many people graduated with you, with your same degree and with your same set of basic skills. If you currently have a job, think about how many people can do what you do, or could get trained to do what you do.

If skills and training can be a common variable among employees, then we need to find or do something that will set us apart. Something that can show that we are THE employee they want to hire or keep. If you ask me, our social skills and attitudes towards our job, towards ourselves and towards our colleagues are the most effective tools we can use to achieve exactly that.

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I am constantly telling my students the importance of a good attitude. How we should be confident yet humble; social yet respectful; easygoing yet responsible and realistic yet positive. Most students today think that just by getting trained they will be able to get the job they want, and we all know that is not the truth. Like I mentioned before, anyone can have our same training or set of skills but not everyone can have our same attitude. What you want to do is to become the employee that everyone wants to work with.

If you are going for an interview, make sure you prepare not only for the technical part of it, but also for the social part. Remember that we are all social creatures and although the social aspect of an interview might not be very defined, it can definitely have a huge impact on whether you get hired or not. It is very important then that you
think about your attitude and your social skills not only prior to an interview, but also after you get the job. Here are just a few things to consider:

Practice a firm handshake, look at people in the eyes and always greet them with a smile.
Be confident of your skills but always remain humble
Remember that it is not what we say, but how we say it. The tone when we speak, our demeanor and even our non-verbal language can convey a lot of information.
Be positive even when things are difficult. Avoid negative comments or even negative connotations when speaking.
Offer to help a colleague in need (without compromising your responsibilities)
Say good morning when you get to work and good night when you leave.
Be flexible and yet responsible
Hold the door open for a colleague, invite someone for coffee.
Be patient and always be a good listener
And always, always, always say thank you and never take anything for granted.

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Ask someone you trust to evaluate where you stand regarding your social skills, and ask them to help you improve if you need to. Our social skills and attitude are something we develop as we go through life. If we do not expose ourselves to situations where these skills are needed we won’t be able to develop them.

Having a positive attitude or good social skills might sound insignificant to some people, but they can have a huge impact on how people perceive and treat you. They can set you apart from the rest of the crowd and most importantly they will make people remember you. They might not remember your name but they will remember how they felt when they were with you and that can be a decisive factor on whether you get (or keep) the job or not. Good Luck.