Whether your background is in plumbing, pipefitting, welding, or electrical work you probably have the skills it takes to succeed within the marine industry. But what if there is something more that will attract employers to your skillsets and background? Have you taken a closer look at your soft skills? Soft skills are those intangible ideas that make up an individual’s personality. They often include things like communication skills and empathy. So how can you be sure you’re cultivating the right soft skills for your next shipyard job? Here are some tips to get you started.
Good Listening Skills
No matter what your background or industry, listening is a top quality for a qualified employee. It’s not uncommon for people to only listen long enough to formulate their own response, but this can lead to miscommunication.
By developing good listening skills, you can understand directions and be able to communicate them back in a concise and understandable method. Let people know you’ve been listening by recapping their instructions and then following through. Only provide feedback and advice when asked or is essential to the project.
Be Adaptable
When the world is changing as quickly as ours, the marine industry needs to keep up. They do that by hiring professional tradespeople who have an eye toward adaptability. You’ll need to be able to turn on a dime without challenging the directions.
One of the best ways for trades professionals to demonstrate adaptability is to continue learning the latest methods and technology to help their career advance. Be open to new situations, new ideas, and new tools that can help you be more efficient and effective.
Leadership Qualities
Whether you’re in a supervisory position or not, leadership qualities are important to a lot of industries that utilize skilled trades professionals. They want to see new employees who have leadership potential. This doesn’t just mean you can boss other people around, but that you have a personality that is motivational and can see the bigger picture in any project.
You can showcase your leadership abilities in your resume or through your actions. These soft skills, along with adaptability and listing skills, aren’t things that can be tested for so you’ll need to communicate them to a hiring manager in another way. Use examples from your previous work to provide a narrative that allows them to see how your soft skills work in action.
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Do you have what it takes to succeed in the trade industry? Contact Hutco to see what we’re working on today.
