C’mon, have you not ever dreamt of landing an exciting job at one of the Fortune 500 companies? These companies attract talent irrespective of their roles or seniority. You could be a fresher or professional—an association with any of the Fortune 500 companies can take your career to new heights. Other reasons for pursuing a career with them include higher pay, job security, and robust health insurance, among others.
Fortune Magazine compiles and publishes an annual list of Fortune 500 companies based on their year-over-year revenue growth. But, what does it take to crack an interesting opportunity with one of them? Here’s a list of some of the most sought-after skills these companies seek in applicants when hiring for various positions.
Most Sought After Skills by the Fortune 500 Companies
1. Proficiency in Productivity Tools
Gone are the days when the basic knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite was enough to secure a job. Now, if you’re a graduating student who has acquired knowledge of O365 via your school, your career prospects are bright. If not, then think of becoming proficient in M365, the latest offering by Microsoft. An added security feature in O365 ensures data privacy within your organisation. Its various features you should master include:
- Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Office Online (Excel, Office, and PowerPoint)
- Planner
Even if you learn the basics of these tools, you can be sure to smoothly sail through your interviews with Fortune 500 companies.
2. Critical Thinking
Although data and information are easily available, what is needed is to be able to discern between valuable information and fake news. Here, critical thinking plays a key role as you will have to sift out useful information from among large lots of information.
Also, do not make the mistake of thinking that critical thinking is negative. Rather, it’s more about being objective while evaluating information. By thinking critically, you know how best to use the given information to your company’s advantage. If you’re open-minded and can assess the quality of information, you can prove to be a valuable asset to your organisation even if it is not one of the Fortune 500 companies.
3. Tech and Internet Savviness
Digital tools are gaining popularity across industries. That’s why professionals with digital and technical skills are being sought after by most employers.
Blockchain, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence will soon become the mainstay of workplaces. And, the only way to capitalise on the upcoming opportunities is by acquiring these technical skills. Once you are at par with the latest technologies and work methods, you can be sure of being a step closer to landing your dream job with one of the Fortune 500 companies.
4. Community Engagement
Today, virtual forums have replaced community get-togethers. Online communities are even serving as the best source for the latest news, trends, and insights.
Several tech giants and Fortune 500 companies are promoting their own boards. Furthermore, Blockchain, which is a fast-emerging technology, uses communities on a large scale for their projects.
All this indicates that engaging in chat channels, social media groups, and forum boards, among other Internet communities, is the way forward.
5. Empathy
Offering cheap and effective solutions is not enough for a company’s growth anymore. Today, organisations seek significant value addition. Empathy can get you places where technical know-how and subject matter expertise fail. By understanding the difficulties of others, you can provide solutions to overcome them. Similarly, you can recognise the problems that users are facing in their everyday lives and offer suitable solutions. All this goes a long way in taking your career notches above, including within the Fortune 500 companies.
6. Leadership Skills
Leadership skills have always been important and will continue to remain so. At workplaces, people from various cultures assemble—all intending to create value-added products and services. Here, the job of a leader entails recognising and tapping into the strengths of each employee. By doing so, they enable the workforce to contribute in the best way possible.
7. Decision Making
Machines can process data speedily. Even so, it is only humans that have to make decisions about how to use the given data. Employees who know how to use the data judiciously and for the betterment of the organisation and company at large are in greater demand. In all, you must study all aspects and possible outcomes of your decisions and work accordingly.
8. Creativity
When it comes to creativity, humans will always score over machines. No matter how fast-paced the world becomes, there will always be room for innovative ideas. Indeed, creativity is one of the key skills employers are looking for.
Most Fortune 500 companies focus on acquiring creative employees who can invent and visualise a better future. Going ahead, companies will look for new ways of working and human creativity will be critical in making innovations happen.
More so, as a professional, you must develop your creative skills and learn how to handle pressure. Striking the right balance between the two can make you a strong contender for key positions in your chosen field and your company.
9. Cultural Intelligence
The world has actually become a very small place in terms of diversity packed in a boardroom across the globe. Most Fortune 500 companies seek and have a diverse workforce that includes people from different countries, races, ethnicities, religions, and more. Besides, most companies operate internationally for generating and conducting business. For this reason, employers prefer employees who are sensitive to other beliefs and cultures. Employees who have strong cultural intelligence skills and can adapt to people from all walks of life are preferred over those who cannot accept cultural differences. Culturally aware and sensitive strong hands can also help in developing inclusive products and services and take the business forward by leaps and bounds.
10. Emotional Intelligence
One area which remains unconquered by machines still is emotional intelligence or EQ. EQ is all about expressing and being in control of our emotions and using this knowledge to better navigate through day-to-day challenges at the workplace and in life. Emotional intelligence brings to the table a unique perspective and approach to comprehending and solving problems that are outside the realm of analytics and machines. Hence, as long as the workforce comprises humans, employers will look for individuals with strong emotional intelligence skills.
Conclusion
While these skills have already established themselves as a prerequisite to gaining entry into one of the top Fortune 500 companies, skills of the future are already making their way to changing the face of the game. These include self-management skills such as stress management, change management, time management, and self-motivation, among others. Additionally, individuals who are open to experimenting, learning from their mistakes, and having a growth mindset can hope to have a bright career.
Do you want to know more about the skills that Fortune 500 companies are looking for? If yes, then reach out to a career counsellor now. Besides offering expert advice, they can take you through various career counselling online options and help you choose your next career move better.
