What Great Companies Want

by George Stillwell

The primary objectives of all Great Companies are as follows:

• Make Money -> Create value for shareholders, grow earnings and profits

• Act Responsibly -> Be a good corporate citizen, improve the lives of consumers

• Minimize Risk -> Legal Risk, Financial Risk, Marketplace Risk

Therefore, what Great Companies look for in the people they hire is that they have the skills and capabilities to…

1. Make money for the company

2. Act responsibly

3. Minimize risk

 

Your primary task in applying for a job is to convince companies that you have what it takes to do what's shown above. Every company has a set of skills and capabilities they are looking for in their management employees. Although all are slightly different, I would offer the following list that covers 90% of them all. You should spend some time reviewing this list as it should be used in developing your resume and interview outline.

Skills & Capabilities all Great Companies Look For

Leadership – You direct, motivate and even inspire others to do things they could not or would not do without your influence. You set the vision for your organization and then enroll and enable to team to deliver on it. This is the single most valuable capability. If you are not a 'born leader' take time to study it and get better at it.

Strategic Thinking – You understand the overall objectives/goals of your company, division, etc. and are able to develop choices for what your team will focus on to deliver against them. You then develop specific tactics to bring the strategies to life. You think in terms of fiscal years vs. day to day.

Innovative Thinking – You are able to think “outside the box” and create concepts and products that go beyond the obvious. You make relevant connections between situations you or the team have encountered before.

Creative Problem Solving – You are able to properly identify problems and then organize yourself and the team to develop solutions and put them into action.

Collaboration/Team Work – You understand what an effective team is and bring people together to deliver great results. You understand diversity and leverage it in your day to day affairs. You treat others with respect.

Communication – You are an effective written and oral communicator. You are open and honest and give and receive feedback frequently and effectively.

Flexibility – You are able to accept change, adapt to new conditions and surroundings. You view change as an opportunity to learn and grow vs. a distraction to be avoided.

Mastery – You understand the technical aspects of your work, the processes and data used. You are able to learn new information and technologies and quickly adapt them to your work. You constantly seek to improve your level of mastery.

Reliability – You get work done in a quality way every time. You show up on time, participate actively, are responsive to requests and follow through on your commitments. In order to better illustrate this point, I suggest you take the following simple, multiple choice quiz on what great companies care more about:

Quiz: What Great Companies Care Most About Take Note of which answer in each pair best represents what Great Companies are looking for. Then check below for the answers.

What you know

What you can do

What experience you have

What degrees you have

Where you come from

Where you’ve been

What TV Shows you watch

What books you read

Whether you can lead

Whether you can follow

How much money you have

What goals you have

If you can solve problems

If you can identify problems

What activities you’ve done

What results you’ve gotten

Loyalty

Competence

A Great resume

A Great interview

Personal endorsements

Written recommendations

Strategic thinking

Tactical thinking

Short term focus

Long term focus

Knowledge & status

Skills & capabilities

Ans: What Great Companies Care Most About:

What you know

What you can do - XX

What experience you have - XX

What degrees you have

Where you come from

Where you’ve been - XX

What TV Shows you watch

What books you read - XX

Whether you can lead - XX

Whether you can follow

How much money you have

What goals you have - XX

If you can solve problems - XX

If you can identify problems

What activities you’ve done

What results you’ve gotten - XX

Loyalty

Competence - XX

A Great resume

A Great interview - XX

Personal endorsements - XX

Written recommendations

Strategic thinking -XX

Tactical thinking

Short term focus

Long term focus - XX

Knowledge & status

Skills & capabilities - XX

The most successful resume and interview will focus on what great companies care most about!

For more advice on getting hired by a great company, check out www.youaremarketable.com

George Stillwell http://www.youaremarketable.com

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