Employers Want Good Time Management Skills

Time management and scheduling skills are highly valued by employers across several rapidly-growing industries, including Information Technology and Construction. Solid time management and scheduling skills are highly attractive qualities in a job candidate, including respectfulness, dependability, and resourcefulness.

Time management skills are one of the most common qualifications listed on ZipRecruiter job postings in a wide range of industries, including nursing, executive assistants, and warehouse jobs.

Time management is a planning process dedicated to making the best use of your workday. Similarly, scheduling requires you to plan your day, ensuring that each hour is dedicated to a specific task or function that must be fulfilled. Managing and scheduling time well enables you to achieve maximum productivity, avoid rushing to meet deadlines, and build in “free” time for other commitments.

Self-Assessment: Evaluate How You Manage Your Time

Self-assessment is vital to determining whether you have good time management and scheduling skills. Evaluating your own habits and patterns helps you to understand how they impact your productivity at work. The following list features 6 questions that can be used to assess whether your time management and scheduling skills are lauded or lacking.

1. How much time do I have each day to complete work?

Good time management and scheduling skills start with knowing how much time you have to work with. This may vary by industry, peak season, and customer needs, but a typical workday might allow for 5-7 hours to complete tasks. So…how many hours per day do you generally have to complete work?

1. 2. Am I comfortable saying ‘no’ to use my time wisely?

No matter what industry you work in, you can be sure that people are a part of it. At work, we collaborate, meet, and engage with people throughout each day. In some cases, people can unintentionally thwart our efforts to manage our time well and schedule tasks effectively. While most group tasks at work, such as meetings and trainings, are mandatory, some things can wait until you have managed your time according to the schedule. You can politely yet assertively say ‘no’ to spontaneous lunch invitations, pleas for immediate assistance with assignments, or other potential threats to effective time management and scheduling.

1. After my work is finished, do I usually have extra time or am I just barely meeting the deadline?

Examine your work patterns to assess your skill set. If you find that, during a typical workday, you are often rushing to complete work with no additional time between the end of one assignment and the start of another, you may not be managing your time well.

1. What kind of feedback have I received about my time management?

Have the people at work dubbed you Punctual Patty or Tardy Tim? Consider some of the feedback you’ve received from colleagues and management about your timeliness. If they have noticed that your scheduling skills are impacting business operations negatively or positively, they will likely speak on it and you can use this feedback to assess your skills.

1. How long do work assignments typically take me to complete compared to how long I expect them to take?

Plans do not always go according to schedule and we have to make adjustments一it happens! But, if you find that you are consistently taking longer than anticipated on assignments, this may be a sign that your time management and scheduling skills need to be refined.  

1. On average, how many times per day am I overbooked?

Do you carefully schedule commitments then check before adding new ones? Or, are you accepting new commitments then finding that there is too much on your schedule? Overbooking inhibits effective time management. Keeping your schedule nearby and checking it hourly can help with this.

Sum it Up

Good time management and scheduling skills empower you to be the best version of your professional self. This skill set not only demonstrates how valuable you are in the workplace, but also serves you as an individual. When you intentionally manage the use of your time, you invest in yourself and your goals. You also show respect for our own time in addition to others’ time. Furthermore, effective time management and scheduling skills enable you to be more efficient at work, which creates positive outcomes for your personal and professional lives.

Written By Kaila Kea