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How to increase your employability in the construction industry
Christine Wood • November 13, 2019
These days more than ever, having a qualification and having experience aren’t the only factors that will get you your dream job. Employers assess your value based on your personality traits and soft skills, which often can’t be measured on paper but are key for a dynamic and integrated workspace. Beyond the essential skills required for a job, employers look for someone who will fit into the culture of the company.
Communication
Both written and verbal communication skills are of extreme importance as they can set the tone for how you are perceived and enhance your relationships with your manager, co-workers and clients. Furthermore, it boosts your performance as you can better extract clear expectations from your manager therefore, comprehend and act efficiently on instructions in order to deliver excellent work.
Team Work
Whether teamwork is mentioned in the job description or not, it is a vital to be proficient in this, in almost any work setting. Good team players are perceptive as well as receptive to the needs and responsibilities of others.
Employers look for team players to help build a positive work culture, which helps retain employees and in turn attracts top talent. Furthermore, being able to collaborate well with your co-workers, often strengthens the quality of your work resulting in a more productive and successful workplace.
Adaptability
Whether your role is in an office or on a construction site, adaptability is essential as companies and their projects always develop and evolve over time. An adaptable employee is able to step outside his or her role and comfort zone without panicking in order to find a solution. When issues arise, sometimes you might need to work out alternative solutions that may require flexibility, multitasking or learning new skills.
Problem Solving
If or when something doesn’t go 100% the way it should, employees will either complain or take action. The ability to recognise an issue or complication, identify possible solutions, implement them, and then follow up to make sure they were successful will make you an enormously valuable employee. When an issue arises, try to think through how to address it and approach your manager with the solution instead of the problem.
Responsibility
If you are responsible for making a mistake then you will be far more respected if you take full accountability for the role you played in it rather than blaming someone else or ignoring it. Being accountable also means following up on tasks to confirm they have been completed and keeping the agreements that you make. This is a core factor for building trust with those you work with.
These soft skills are usually the difference between satisfactory employees and ideal employees. Furthermore, a productive and healthy work environment particularly dependent on these soft skills as the workplace is an interpersonal space, where relationships must be built and fostered, tricky decisions must be made, and occasionally conflicts must be resolved.
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Mental Health Month is a national event celebrated every October, aiming to improve community awareness and understanding of mental health and wellbeing, serving as a reminder that safety on the job site goes beyond hard hats and caution tape. So here are some key programs and organisations leading the way when it comes to raising awareness and providing mental health support to the construction sector and beyond
JV Recruitment has been listed as a Best Brand finalist in the APSCO Australia Awards For Excellence in 2024.
JV is a specialist recruitment and traffic management agency. We’re experts across the following specialisations throughout Australia: Construction, Engineering, Facilities Management, Energy & Renewables, Business Support and Traffic Management.
