Guess what is always one of the most desired skills by recruiters for new hires: Communication.
Why? Communication is the basis of every team. You need to be able to communicate your thoughts in a way that others understand and to convince others that your work is worth trusting. You need to be able to email, call, or talk to people to get the information needed to complete a task or help someone finish a project.
I recently finished a year-long training program at one of the largest banks in the country. In the program, I had what was a difficult conversation about how I was feeling. I communicated that I needed a temporary change to bring the most effectiveness to the team. The conversation resulted in some changes for me and the team that helped us work better for the rest of my rotation.
Afterward, I was told “Those conversations don’t happen. Few people have the maturity as a young analyst to share something in such an effective way.” That one conversation elevated my confidence in my job and improved my performance for the last 5 months of my training rotations.
People will notice when you can speak up effectively. They will notice when you can communicate what you need while also looking out for those around you.
Your boss is not looking for a bunch of yes men or women. Your boss wants people who will push back on ideas to make them better. You can sit back and nod your head in agreement during every meeting or you can throw out ideas that contribute to your team. You will not have the perfect answer most of the time, but you can start conversations that lead to even better ideas.
Speak Up.
I appreciate you.
-JP
If you missed it, I am launching my new book, Speak Up, in the coming months. This post and the last few posts are excerpts from that book!
Check out last week’s post, The Cost of Conflict Avoidance: https://jaredpeters.co/2021/05/17/the-cost-of-conflict-avoidance/