Working in Portugal: Career Progression

In a competitive labour market, although you might have all the hard skills acquired in your previous work experience or education experience, soft skills are increasingly gaining importance with recruiters in the moment of choosing the right candidate. Here are some advices to help you succeed in your fresh start:

• Passion: everyone is looking for employment but not everyone wants a job. Show commitment, will to grow and desire to work alongside the best teams.

• Hard skills vs Soft skills: so many people don’t succeed due to lack of empathy. If you know how to do your job properly and everyone likes to work with you, of course the company will want to keep you engaged and offer you promotion. Remember: we all have to start somewhere.

• Work smart not hard: staying at work until late night doesn’t make you a good employee. If a supervisor assigns you a task, he knows your limits and knows how long it will take to complete it. In some work environments in specific cultures, when you are not able to complete your tasks in your regular work time, it shows inefficiency and lack of organisation. A social life after work is essential to maintain your sanity, remember to keep those soft skills always at your best.

• Reliance: It is not just about the supervisors – your colleagues need to count on you. A good employee is always available to reach out and help you when no one else is around.

• Be truthful: If you cannot perform a task, ask for help. Don’t try to do everything on your own. What will eventually happen is you will start slacking and you will drag your team down. By helping others, others will also want to help you. Be kind. Be truthful.