3.4: Ability to Communicate: #1 Employer-Sought Skill

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But you might argue that public speaking skills are critical only in isolated areas of our daily lives. Do you think to yourself that you’ll never really use speech in your day-to-day life? Or that no one is concerned with your ability to speak in a public forum? Then you would be wrong.

Take a look at the list in the table. While employers would ideally like to hire employees with all these skills, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (Job Outlook 2016), employers consistently rank communication as one of the top five skills they seek.

Top Five Qualities/Skills Employers Want

Leadership
Ability to work in a team
Communication skills (written)
Problem-solving skills
Communication skills (verbal)

Source: Job Outlook 2016, The National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2016

Provided by: Florida State College at Jacksonville. License: CC BY: Attribution