September 4, 2012 | Alberta

Certain skills are required for every given profession, whether adults pursue information technology (IT) careers, nursing jobs or roles in accounting. Along with skills, an aspiring professional should be sure to develop competencies that will help them excel in every aspect of life. These qualities can include not only a person's trained skills but also the knowledge they have gained in the field, and the attributes they inherently possess that make them ideal candidates for the position in question.

Competencies vs. Skills

Though competencies are often closely aligned with a person's skills, they include a wider scope of qualities that make a professional a valuable asset. To showcase to employers that a professional is worthy to fill a role as the accounting and payroll administrator, they can accurately describe their competencies on their resume and in job interviews, particularly the essential ones that most recruiters look for in a job candidate, such as personal management and devotion to high-quality work.

Personal Management

Employers do not want to have to hold their workers' hands throughout every step of each project, meeting or phone call that they must make on a daily basis. Being able to adapt to changes and take accountability for one's self is crucial to succeeding in a professional environment. While young adults may work in teams from time to time, ultimately, they are solely responsible for their own work. No one else will oversee that every task is completed - supervisors will simply acknowledge whether or not the work gets done.

Submit Only Quality Work

Possessing a strong commitment to quality is not only important in a young adult's current job, but it is essential throughout a person's entire career. This competency is closely related to professionals' passion for their work, because typically, if a person is passionate about what they do, they will only be satisfied when the quality of their product is top notch. Any employer who takes pride in what they do will value a job applicant who showcases this attribute. One of the best ways to demonstrate this is for adults to bring in samples of their work during a job interview. Showing a recruiter instead of telling them that a person is passionate is much more effective and could ultimately help seal the job offer.

Students who are ready to identify and strengthen their competencies in the accounting sphere can enroll in payroll courses at CDI College. For more information, fill out the form on the right.