‘We’re Looking for Lifelong Learners’

Recruiters, CEOs and career experts in Tarrant County sound off on the skills most crucial to regional success in the modern workforce.

by tyler hicks

very time Patrick Makarewich interviews a candidate for any kind of position, he has a specific goal in mind. He has a list of formal questions, of course (that’s a must in healthcare), but ultimately, he’s looking for something no resume can tell him.

“In healthcare, we’re so focused on the technical training, and if someone has been trained in a super-specific way, the customer service piece ends up taking a back seat sometimes,” says Makarewich, the director of the outpatient radiology clinic at UT Southwestern. “So when I do interviews, I just want to talk to them to find out what kind of person they are.”

The healthcare veteran thinks employers in many fields have a tendency to “lose sight of the intangibles,” particularly when they’re trying to fill positions quickly. However, he thinks the intangibles—skills like collaboration, teamwork, critical thinking and positivity—are often the most important part of an employee’s toolkit.

And in a fiercely competitive labor market like this one, when unemployment is at an all-time low, employers have little margin for error when it comes to hiring.

“Sometimes I wish I could go back to my earlier self during the first times I was interviewing people and tell them what I know now,” Makarewich says, with a slight chuckle. “Because some of the best hires have been people with mediocre resumes and interviews that didn’t pop off the page, and some of my worst hires have been people who had all the accomplishments in the world. But at the end of the day, they didn’t go the extra mile, and that’s what employers need.”

On the heels of several turbulent years for the U.S. economy, executives, recruiters and veteran career experts are evaluating the skills that are most crucial to success in the modern workplace. With thousands of job openings throughout Tarrant County, institutions of higher learning hope to give their students a competitive edge. Meanwhile, those businesses are trying to attract the best talent possible—and many companies are looking for the same thing.

“I’m always looking for people who know how to solve problems and think critically,” says Jeff Smith, an experienced consultant. Smith is now CEO of the electronics company Audio Junction Replacement Services, whose major partner is Allstate

Insurance. “I don’t care how old you are: Everyone has the capacity to learn, but do they have the willingness to learn?”

Learning, he notes, doesn’t always happen in the office. Like Makarewich, Smith wants his current and prospective employees to be self-starters.

“The society we live in today is so different than it was even 20 years ago,” Smith says. “And until fairly recently, an employee who was a self-starter really had to rely on what their company provided. Now, the world is their oyster. They just have to know where to focus their efforts.”

Core Competencies

The eight skills colleges and employers agree are crucial to a successful career

Career & Self Development

Communication

Critical Thinking

Equity & Inclusion

Leadership

Professionalism

Teamwork

Technology

Skills Crucial for Future Managers

For those workers looking to become a manager or executive, experts agree there are additional skills worth having.

“Leaders have to be very flexible and agile, and that’s difficult for a lot of people when there’s constant change,” says Ed Archangel, the lead talent recruiter for Texas Health Resources. “People talk about embracing change, but a lot of times, they like change when it’s happening to someone else.”

And speaking of change, Archangel says anyone interested in a leadership position must possess an in-depth familiarity with their employees’ goals and needs. He calls this “active caring,” or going out of your way to listen to what your employees tell you when they talk about how they’re feeling and where they hope to take their careers.

“Nowadays, leaders and organizations have to be really, really sensitive to work-life balance and the personalities of their employees,” he says. “When you’re not sensitive to those things, your people aren’t going to want to work for you very long.”

Mike Berry, a real estate legend and president of Hillwood, recently shared with The Lens another key attribute all leaders must possess: an appetite for learning.

“You should never stop learning,” Berry says. “Constantly educating yourself is key in real estate, but I’d say it’s important in just about any business.”

WHAT COMPANIES NEED TODAY … AND TOMORROW

Ed Archangel is perfect for his role as the director of talent acquisition for Texas Health Resources. He is witty, cheery and even over the phone, he can make you feel like your goals and interests are the most important things in the world to him and his employer. Yet even the preternaturally upbeat Archangel will admit recruiters like him are facing challenges they have never faced before.

“The game has changed dramatically,” he says. “Now every job offer has a counteroffer.”

At press time, Archangel and his team were recruiting and hiring for “a couple thousand roles,” or summed up, a significant chunk of their 28,000-person operation. Plus, he notes that there is “constant attrition:” As soon as he fills one role, another opening might pop up. All of which ups the importance of a critical skill: the ability to make an impact on day one in your job. Companies coping with high levels of attrition know their new hires will likely be elsewhere in 10 years—if not less.

So while employees were previously viewed as long-term investments, the most coveted hires are those who can master all aspects of their job with much less guidance and training.

“Innovative and creative thinking are in demand, because what got us to today might not be what gets us to tomorrow,” Archangel says. “We’re looking for lifelong learners: people who are serious about developing new skills even after they’ve landed their dream job.”

Mike Caldwell concurs. Caldwell, the executive director of career services at Texas Christian University, has spent two decades helping students choose and prepare for careers, and as such, he has seen drastic evolutions in how employers approach hiring.

“For employers 20 years ago—or even 10 years ago—a red flag would be someone who switched jobs often,” he says. “But the reality is, for employers and job-seekers, I don’t think it’s about stability on either side of the equation. I think it’s about being able to grow fast and prove you can pick up new skills even without hours and hours of training.”

A common cliche is that the jobs students will have a decade from now might not exist yet, Caldwell notes. But nowadays, he believes it’s more apt to say that the companies students will be working for don’t yet exist.

“A lot of brand-name employers have cropped up in the last 20 years alone, and they came into being at a time when people’s relationships to work were changing rapidly,” he says. “So if you’re an employee, now it’s all about being that person who adapts and is informed about what’s happening in your industry and in the world of work.”

When discussing must-have skills, Caldwell, Archangel and several others interviewed by The Lens pointed to the “core competencies” published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). And despite all the changes and challenges mentioned above, these experts say NACE’s list is still relevant to employees in every field.

For instance, the first skill on the list—career/self development— is a direct reflection of what Archangel says he needs for the thousands of roles he is currently trying to fill. Whether you’re a nurse or an executive (see sidebar Core Competencies), you need the ability to identify your strengths and weaknesses and develop an actionable plan for improving both. Critical thinking also makes an appearance on the list.

“It may sound weird at first, but I truly believe that the ability to think is a skill,” Smith says. “It’s one thing to be able to communicate; it’s another thing to be able to think about what needs to be communicated—and why.”

When asked to pick just one skill he wants each of his employees to bring to the table, the CEO didn’t hesitate.

“Communication,” he says. Incidentally, that makes the list of NACE core competencies, too.

“Communication includes listening,” Smith adds. “I need someone who is skilled at conveying information, but is also able to listen and process what is being communicated in return.”

Makarewich agrees. He is currently hiring for several open positions, including a nurse and a medical assistant. But he is also on the hunt for far more than technical skills.

“When someone calls our hospital angry because they’ve been passed around from person to person and form to form without getting the info they need for their health or their family’s health, I don’t need someone saying, ‘That’s not my department,’” he says. “I need someone who is a skilled-enough communicator to manage that conflict, and if it’s not our department, that’s fine. But they need to be savvy enough and compassionate enough to say, ‘Hey, let me help you get where you need to be.’”

Phedra Redifer, the executive director of workforce solutions for North Central Texas, says that the desire to get employees “where they need to be” is the spirit of her organization’s collaboration with Hillwood. The workforce solutions group is working with Hillwood to help employers identify key traits and upskill employees. All of the aforementioned skills— communication, critical thinking and problem-solving—top the list of skills most desired by North Texas companies.

“If you’re hiring for a logistics manager or an engineering position, there’s of course a threshold of knowledge and skills you have to meet,” Redifer notes. “But the thing is, most job applicants are going to have those skills. What I’ve learned with Hillwood is that companies want people who come in with great communication and interpersonal skills but also want to get even better.”

Experts Agree

Career experts know how stressful this conversation must be for people seeking a promotion, an industry change or, harder still, their first job. The uncertain nature of the economy is hard enough; employees must also focus on building and refining skills—an activity that is arguably a job in and of itself.

“We’re seeing more competition for jobs, and a lot of students are competing for the same or similar jobs,” says Tracy Williams, a veteran career counselor with Tarrant County College. “You can’t just show up anymore; you need an edge. But that’s starting to change.”

Caldwell is seeing stiffer competition, too, and talk of a possible recession doesn’t help. So how do you manage to develop the skills employers covet and not succumb to the stress?

“I always tell people, ‘Focus on what you can control,’” Caldwell says. “You can’t control a whole job market, but you can control your ability to check in on a fellow alum of your school or an employer from across town. Send them a quick email and offer to go for coffee and pick their brain. It couldn’t hurt.”

Other execs and experts agree.

“We all say, ‘It’s not what you know; it’s who you know,’ but the only time we’re interested in networking is when we’re in it for ourselves,” Makarewich says. “You can’t develop a network if you’re only doing it to find your next job. If you’re networking, you need to act like you’re truly interested in connecting and learning. And hopefully you are.”

That’s another point of agreement for everyone interviewed by The Lens

Valuable employees are always interested in their work and in getting better. Each job may not be their passion project, but they find something they enjoy about it, and they chase that interest by asking questions and forging relationships with people doing similar work.

IIn other words, like those “best hires” Makarewich mentioned, they go the extra mile.

“That may be a cliche,” he says, “but it’s a cliche because it’s true, and it’ll never go out of style.”