Q: What are good employee traits and soft skills? Why are they important when seeking a job?
– Sheritta Kimble, Human Services program studentA: These are great questions that affect everyone seeking work as well as keeping a job and fitting into a work environment with many other people. Traits employers seek in prospective employees include:

Likeability
Team Spirit
Dependability
Confidentiality
Being Trustworthy
Good Team Workers
Leaders
Being Self-Confident
Having a Positive Attitude
Taking Directions
Willingness to Work
Accepting Responsibility
Being Flexible
Respecting Leadership
Being Clean & Organized
Willingness to Learn New Things
Following Rules & Guidelines
Occupational/Hands-on Skills

Top soft skills and qualities employers look for in prospective employees include: communication skills (verbal and written); honesty/integrity; interpersonal skills (relating well to others); motivation/initiative; and a strong work ethic. To learn more about these traits and skills, visit the MATC Library or your public library and go to the career section. There are many books, DVDs, VHS tapes and other materials describing how important good employee traits are in the employer’s eye.

Although these lists seem obvious, people do forget how important these traits are, especially when they have been on the job awhile. Keeping in mind that meeting deadlines, doing the job you are hired to do, and ensuring others are able to complete their work because they can depend on you are traits employers expect in their employees and they are traits that will help you keep your job.

Also, working in teams ensures a good working relationship between all workers and is key to having an organization run smoothly and move forward in its mission. Remember, you may not like someone, but while you are on the job and being paid, you are expected to act professionally and help the company meet its goals. Arguing and fighting will cost you a position, regardless of the circumstances, because it costs time and money – things that are indispensible in business.

The next MATC Job Fair will be held
at the Milwaukee Campus, Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Contact Jenny McGilligan in room S203 at the Milwaukee Campus, or at 297-6302 for the latest list of employers scheduled to be at the fair.

For information about employment-related topics, contact:
Joanne Johnson-Clauser, M.S., GCDF, Employment Development Specialist
 Telephone: (414) 297-7765
 E-Mail: [email protected]
 Office: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Room S203 at the Milwaukee Campus