2020 was a&hellip; weird year, to put it mildly. Extremely mildly. As this year finally comes to an end, we need to look forward to the types of skills that will be in demand coming up, because they&rsquo;re more important and dynamic than ever after this past year has moved the goalposts in so many ways. It&rsquo;s never too early to start sharpening your skills for the future ahead and we&rsquo;ve got a few of the must-haves to be the most well-rounded candidate on the market in 2021.
<h3>Desire to Learn</h3>
Upskilling will never go out of style. In fact, it&rsquo;s becoming only more important as we go forward. Showcasing your insatiable desire to add more skills and tools to your bag is as attractive to potential employers as anything else you can do. The great news is, it&rsquo;s never been easier to find ways to become better and more talented than ever before. With online courses in a variety of different fields and disciplines, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/career-paths">your ability to showcase</a> your thirst for knowledge is waiting for you to come get started.
<h3>Problem-Solving</h3>
It&rsquo;s no secret that 2020 was full of problems. More so than any other year in recent memory. If anything, it&rsquo;s highlighted that our ability to deal with them gracefully, intelligently, and compassionately makes all the difference. Showing off your problem-solving skills in 2021 should be at the top of your list because every team can use someone to depend on. Someone who can bend with the circumstances, but never break. A more innovative approach to solving the problems of the team and organization will absolutely go noticed.
<h3>Flexibility</h3>
We&rsquo;ve learned a lot this year, but one of the biggest lessons was in flexibility. Going forward, let&rsquo;s showcase this as a genuine positive for any organization that wants us. By focusing on your flexibility, you&rsquo;re signaling that you&rsquo;re adaptable in these uncommon times. That you can roll with the punches to get the job done under a variety of circumstances. Flexibility in the workplace is sure to excite any potential employer because it means that you&rsquo;re as dependable as you are diverse.
<h3>Virtual Mastery</h3>
Tagging alongside a sharpened dedication to flexibility, one of the top skills you can hone in on in 2021 is your ability to be a virtual asset. With work from home becoming something of a norm for the foreseeable future, demonstrate that you&rsquo;re ready for this world ahead. An employer needs to know that you have turned your own working space into a virtual office that in many cases exceeds their own, and that you&rsquo;ll have no issues getting the job done from the remote space should they bring you on board.&nbsp;
<h3>Dedication</h3>
2020 kicked many of us down. But you know what? We always picked ourselves back up. Show this off through proving how resilient and dedicated you are for the year to come. Turning the year that was into a positive can be displayed through how much you&rsquo;ve learned from it. A future employer will love to see a candidate that has become tougher in the face of hard times and become an even more dependable employee because of them. This year stunk, plain and simple, but kept moving. Proudly show this off to anyone looking for a top potential candidate.

It’s never too early to start sharpening your skills for the future ahead.

Off to a Skilled Start: 5 Important Skills You’ll Need in 2021

It’s never too early to start sharpening your skills for the future ahead and we’ve got a few of the must-haves to be the most well-rounded candidate on the market in 2021.

When we settle in at a job, we usually start to get comfortable. The process of physically getting there, or how you plan out your day once you stepped inside of the office, was an important element to putting your best foot forward. Now that many of us have switched to remote work, that routine may look wildly different, but the importance it has on both our productivity and our happiness is as big as it ever was.
Before your workday even begins, the first step to kicking off your best routine is to get a full eight hours of sleep. Nothing can throw off even the most well-planned routine like a fatigued, dragging start to your day. Working from home is every bit as taxing as it is from the office, so never take for granted how important it is to get adequate rest before the day begins. Consider keeping the same waking hours that you had when you went into a physical space. This will help you create a sense of routine and allows you to keep consistency in your approach. A tactic like this goes hand-in-hand with another major WFH tip, and that&rsquo;s to ensure that you&rsquo;re creating a schedule for yourself. It can be easy to just wing it a bit more when we&rsquo;re working from home, but a schedule for your day, and even your week, will provide the structure that many of us need to focus on the tasks we need to get done. On top of that, it will plain feel good to knock them out during the day and feel like you&rsquo;re progressing in the same way that you would at the office.
Now that you&rsquo;re ready to get to work, make sure that the place you&rsquo;re working in is set up to do exactly that. Finding the balance of comfort and productivity in your workspace is everything. To know that when you&rsquo;re up you have a place to go to get the job done will give you one less thing to worry about. Even more important than that, having a space to work in that feels comfortable to you gives you the ability to focus more on your tasks than outside distractions or even the headaches of working within an office. Just as vital as making sure your area is great to work in is making sure that you leave it every once in a while, too. Sometimes when we&rsquo;re working from home, we can lose track of time. We can forget that we&rsquo;ve been at it for hours without a break. A part of your daily schedule and routine should be to work in breaks that allow you to step completely away for a while. For some, a midday workout is just what they need. Others just need to get up and walk around. Whatever feels best for you, ensure that you&rsquo;re allowing yourself to step away from time to time so that you can return to your workspace more energized to finish strong
The truth is, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40575835/let-this-brain-scientist-optimize-your-morning-routine">your brain craves routine</a>. Whether it&rsquo;s in work or life outside of it, you&rsquo;re at your best when you have some consistency in what may be in store for you. By creating a routine around your work schedule, you give yourself the comfort in knowing that there is a structure in place to perform at your highest. Because many of us do not have the consistency of the office life to push us towards more production, we have to replicate many of those things at home. But the good news is, if we set it up right we can be every bit as productive as we were in the office and a whole lot more comfortable, too. Navigating this new world of work from home will continue to be a learning process, but take the necessary steps to give yourself a routine for each day and watch how much better the whole thing becomes.
Ready to find the right work-from-home job? Explore our <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/Jobs">jobs page</a> and start applying today!

Your routine may look wildly different, but the importance it has on both our productivity and our happiness is as big as it ever was.

The Importance of Building a Work From Home Routine

Now that many of us have switched to remote work, that routine may look wildly different, but the importance it has on both our productivity and our happiness is as big as it ever was.

Get in the Groove: The Importance of Building a Work From Home Routine

They go by many names. Sometimes, they&rsquo;re dubbed &ldquo;intangibles.&rdquo; Others like to call them &ldquo;soft skills.&rdquo; We just see them as part of what makes you a more well-rounded candidate than anybody else up for the job. One of the most important things you can show off to potential employers are these skills and traits that prove that you&rsquo;re more than just qualified on paper, but you can bring a whole different kind of spark to any organization.
In LinkedIn&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/learning-and-development/most-in-demand-skills-2020">list of the most desired</a> soft skills of 2020, we can see a list that features something just about any candidate should already have under their belt. They might just not know it yet. These skills range from intangibles like creativity, all the way to collaboration and adaptability. The very first thing you can do is identify these soft skills within yourself so you can highlight them come interview or application time.
Are you worried about that gap in your resume? Well, start thinking about all of the real-life accomplishments that occurred within that time. That &ldquo;gap&rdquo; might actually be an opportunity to promote the unbelievably-necessary soft skill of adaptability. During that period, you maybe worked on finding ways to be more proactive and go after every opportunity that came your way. Or maybe you took that time to upskill and learn something new and just there alone you&rsquo;ve got everything you need to showcase your ability to manage stressful situations or your drive as a self-starter.
What about a soft skill like collaboration or even mediating conflict? It may seem like you&rsquo;d need very specific examples from a previous job, but there are plenty of life events that give you the same experience. A mother works harder than any office worker on these exact skills every single day and sharpens those skills actively, so be proud to highlight that.&nbsp;
Sometimes, these skills are sitting right beneath your nose. They&rsquo;re absolutely essential qualities that every employer looks for and chances are, you practice them and show them off every day. If you&rsquo;re someone who has been out juggling multiple jobs and school, you&rsquo;ve already got true attention to detail and organizational skills that the company you&rsquo;re interested in would love to hear about. Especially when it comes time for the interview.
Speaking of the interview, this is probably the most important stage you have for pointing employers towards the intangibles that set you apart from the pack. Whether you&rsquo;re trying to stand out amongst other candidates who have the same skills as you, or trying to prove value despite not having as much traditional experience as the position calls for, your ability to demonstrate these intangibles comes to life during the interview. The employer will be looking for any sign that you&rsquo;ve got something else up your sleeve. Prove this to them by using the skills you&rsquo;ve listed out and worked on above and detail more than how you use them every day, but how they&rsquo;ll come in to play at your new position.
Go further during the interview and actively shine the spotlight on your intangibles. It&rsquo;s easy to be enthusiastic without going too far. Set the tone as an engaged, excited candidate that has a real passion for this position and let that come through your conversation. Another important intangible you can promote during this process is your value as a problem-solver, be ready with specific examples of times you&rsquo;ve worked through something difficult, professionally or personally, that will translate to this role. Sprinkle in details of your leadership qualities and your ability to collaborate comfortably, and you&rsquo;ll be able to walk away from the interview knowing that you gave them a lot more than just a resume to consider.
For the employer of today, they&rsquo;re looking for candidates who may look good on paper, but really come to life in person. By putting an emphasis on the development and portrayal of intangibles, you may find that <a href="http://www.careercircle.com/">you unlock more opportunities</a> in the process. You&rsquo;re so much more than what your resume says, and you should be proud to show that off.

One of the most important things you can show off to potential employers are these skills and traits.

How to Uncover the Hidden Soft Skills You Already Own

One of the most important things you can show off to potential employers are the skills and traits that prove that you’re more than just qualified on paper,

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Staff Writer

141 Articles

Off to a Skilled Start: 5 Important Skills You’ll Need in 2021

Get in the Groove: The Importance of Building a Work From Home Routine

How to Uncover the Hidden Soft Skills You Already Own

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