Pamela Gingold of CareerStart highlights the key attributes employers look for in new hires
Pamela Gingold the founder and CEO of CareerStart
USA Today | Hilary Tetenbaum · Contributor
06 Oct 2023
As anxiety continues to mount over the rising US unemployment rate, there is a need for professionals to equip themselves with high-demand skills to remain on employers’ wishlists. The Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) recently reported that the US unemployment rate has risen to 3.8 percent in August. Although the figures weren’t severe for every industry, employees specialized in transportation and logistics continued to experience a rising unemployment rate.
Overall, the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points to 3.8 percent in August, while the number of unemployed persons increased by 514,000 to 6.4 million. This is a bit different from the previous year when the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent and the number of unemployed persons was 6.0 million. Within these figures, the number of those who lost their jobs and those who completed the term of their temporary jobs went up by 294,000 to reach 2.9 million in August.
As the search for jobs has become more frustrating and competitive, fresh graduates and young job seekers urgently need to differentiate themselves by developing key attributes and high-demand skills. To truly secure a role in these challenging circumstances, these job seekers must learn how to express these skills in interviews and on the job, in contrast to simply listing them on their resume. While having these skills on a resume can help land the interview, demonstrating them in front of the interviewer can help land the job.
Pamela Gingold is the founder and CEO of CareerStart, a company that helps college students, graduates, and professionals develop key attributes and cultivate critical skills to land their dream jobs and excel as professionals. The company helps professionals looking to land a role, change careers, or in need of an opportunity to pivot mid-career. CareerStart also helps these job seekers remodel their resumes and cover letters while teaching them interview etiquette and as well as acceptable office behaviors.
Gingold, who has 20 years of experience in career development and coaching, with hands-on business expertise, lists these key attributes below.
Leadership skills, which she says are demonstrated by a show of drive, will to win, and self-motivation. Gingold says a person with this skill is a self-starter, who tends to contribute beyond expectations in their work. According to her, this skill can be developed through taking leadership positions in school organizations, clubs, and student government. She says it can also be learned through extracurricular activities such as athletics, volunteering, internships, and employment.
Teamwork and good interpersonal skills, which she says enable the jobseeker to communicate and work well with others while contributing to a team. Gingold says this skill also enables the jobseeker to deal with different types of people in a positive manner, helping the company achieve its goals. Gingold claims this skill can be strengthened through active participation in group activities like school group projects, sports, and other instances where you must learn to work with many types of individuals.
Problem-solving capacity is another critical skill that employers look out for in new hires. She says a candidate demonstrates this through analytical problem solving, strategic thinking, the ability to execute, and the ability to make decisions. She notes that the candidate should be able to apply what they’ve learned beyond the classroom. According to her, this capacity can be developed primarily through work or internships related to the particular job-seeker’s career goals.
Gingold also believes that candidates must develop good communication skills. She explains that this enables the candidate to correctly present their ideas verbally and in writing, as well as being good listeners. According to her, this skill can be developed by taking writing courses, studying research papers, writing for school publications, and joining debate teams. Gingold adds that job-seekers must possess good work ethics and professional presence.
“A jobseeker must learn to take responsibility for their work. They must always be ready to do what it takes to successfully complete their responsibilities and deliver on their key performance indicators. There also has to be a willingness to work hard and for as long as it takes to get the work done as expected and on time. Parents can encourage their children to set high standards in meeting their responsibilities, as children often emulate what their parents model. Candidates must also show maturity, confidence, as well as a positive attitude towards work,” Gingold says.
Gingold notes that CareerStart can help its clients identify these soft skills to be able to showcase them in interviews. CareerStart coaches develop an individually determined job search plan for every client while coaching and mentoring them throughout their entire job-seeking process till they land the full-time position or internship they so desire. Regarding future company goals, CareerStart would like to provide career coaching pro bono to US veterans. CareerStart aims to continue to mentor young graduates and job-seekers, providing them with one-on-one support that literally walks them through into a job that kick-starts their professional careers.
