You have recently completed your undergraduate courses or maybe want to shift to a more attractive job. Like many others, it’s quite normal to get lost while looking for the right career path. Perhaps the most common question that we get from new job seekers is, “What are the important skills required for high-paying jobs in Australia?”
There is a severe skills shortage in Australia right now. Companies all over the country are looking for skilled professionals and are offering handsome packages. A recent report by The Financial Review demonstrated this labour shortage in four explanatory graphs.
Workplace skills can be classified into two broad categories. Firstly, we have the hard skills—the technical know-how needed for a specific job. Then, we have soft skills: common skills that are more or less expected from nearly every profession. In this article, we will talk about basic soft skills that are essential for Australian jobs. We will share the ways to develop those skills. We’ll explain the importance of hard skills as well. So let’s take a look, shall we?
Why Work on Skills Required for High-Paying Jobs in Australia?
There is a huge demand for qualified individuals in Australia. However, you should be proficient in a range of skills. This will definitely give you a huge edge in the job market. It’s no secret that merely having academic knowledge without any interpersonal expertise won’t take you very far. In a typical workplace, you have to cooperate with various stakeholders, like your team members. Businesses prefer candidates with these additional skills. Therefore, you can see why you should have a combination of different skills.
Just like any other place, the job market in Australia is constantly evolving. We highly suggest studying and developing an array of skills. You’ll be getting much better offers by effectively working on this area.
Basic Soft Skills
As we have mentioned before, these skills are common skills that employers expect from every position. These will not deal with any technical requirements. However, these personal characteristics will directly impact your productivity and relationships at work. Let’s go through the most popular soft skills in Australian jobs.
Flexibility in Changing Situations
Also known as adaptability, this is your ability to respond to evolving practices and trends. The overall business scenario in any industry is always changing. Technological innovations, new policies, and globalization are a few of the reasons behind this rapid change. You should learn to be flexible with changes in your company and its surroundings.
Let us look at an example. Google announced very recently that it would prioritize more original content in search results. They used the phrase “more content by people, for people” in the title of their announcement. As a result, SEO content writers have to work smarter and produce more authentic content.
How you can develop this skill: Keep yourself updated with the most recent trends. Learn to be more proficient in using the latest tools. Always try to get a better understanding of your company, its industry, and relevant global factors.
Interpersonal Communication
Depending on your job nature, you have to work with different stakeholders. On a regular day, you may have to interact with co-workers and clients from various backgrounds. Companies can be broken down into smaller departments. Effective communication across all departments ensures smooth and successful results.
In a soda company, the logistics department regularly interacts with the warehouses. They need to have open communication to accurately calculate every shipment of bottles and cans. A slight mistake might lead to big losses. As a result, interpersonal communication is a valued soft skill and essential for high-paying jobs.
How you can develop this skill: It’s best if you actively practise this skill. Don’t be shy and interact with different people. Use platforms like LinkedIn to connect with companies and professionals. Internships, part-time jobs, and volunteer activities are also great ways to improve your communication skills.
Creativity
Creativity is a must-have skill in some of the top-paying jobs in Australia. It basically refers to your imaginative power to come up with something new. Tech companies and art-based businesses are always searching for creative applicants. By fostering creativity, one can offer a unique solution to a problem. Creativity is an amazing source of innovative concepts, and its demand is always growing.
How you can develop this skill: Firstly, you need to understand what interests you the most. By investing time in experimenting, you can develop your creative ability. If you’re into painting, study examples by your favourite artists. Never be afraid to think outside the box.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a crucial skill to have in modern workplaces. Also termed “EQ,” it’s your ability to better control your own emotions and others as well. This skill has five main parts:
- Having social skills
- Practising self-regulation
- Being self-aware
- Having empathy
- Motivation
According to the Harvard Business Review, self-awareness is found in only 10–15% of the population. So you can see the shortage of EQ skills. Companies tend to prefer high-EQ individuals. These people have better leadership capabilities and are more successful in teamwork. Therefore, companies will naturally have better remuneration for them.
How you can develop this skill: You should identify your personality traits and focus on a career suited for those traits. Take care of your mental health if you’re too stressed. These are key steps to better managing emotions.
An Analytical Mindset
Highly paid professionals like software engineers, doctors, and biologists have one thing in common. And that is, they all have an analytical thought process. Better paying jobs often consist of risks and challenges. You need to think about many factors before making a decision. We highly recommend this skill for more technical and challenging jobs.
How you can develop this skill: It mostly depends on your occupation. Sales officers have to work with large calculations on tools like MS Excel or Power BI. Engineers have to think analytically when working with CAD models. You need to have the solid technical knowledge to have appropriate analytical skills.
Hard Skill
Hard skills are technical skills required for a particular job. In Australia, educational institutions provide various certifications that recognize one’s qualifications. For example, you need to have a Certificate III in Carpentry to be a certified carpenter. Or you can pursue a Diploma in Building and Construction to enter the construction industry.
How you can develop this skill: Courses, both online and offline, are a great way to understand a hard skill and its different aspects. Besides, books and free online resources are readily available on most topics these days. It’s important to choose hard skills that you will love in the long run. Also, make sure that you’re learning skills that are relevant to the job market.
Conclusion
You now know about the basic skills required for high-paying jobs in Australia. We have also discussed how you can nurture these skills. Remember, a well-rounded applicant with the correct expertise can easily land lucrative jobs in Australia.
Spend enough time to polish both your technical knowledge and soft skills. A perfect combination of hard skills and soft skills helps in finishing tasks quickly and effectively.
