Quick comprehension - a top skill in your application!

The ability to quickly see through difficult issues is already a huge advantage at university. And with this important job skill you naturally also have a strong ace up your sleeve when you start your career. The working world is changing faster and faster and the demands in the job are changing accordingly.

The talents who are able to comprehend quickly have a clear advantage with recruiters. In which situations is it particularly important to be a fast learner? Is it possible to improve your comprehension and how can you best convey rapid comprehension in your application?

These are exactly the questions we are dealing with in this article! So if you're just getting your application ready, here are some good tips to take away!

Definition of comprehension: as fast and precise as possible!

As soon as the topic of applications comes up and you take a closer look at the current job market, you will stumble across soft skills. This means the skills and qualities that qualify you for a job in addition to your professional competence. They are often described as key competences, soft skills or social skills.

However, many job advertisements certainly look for these skills. Whether it's flexibility, teamwork or creativity: There are a lot of soft skills and everyone has some, which of course varies from person to person.

Quick comprehension falls under this skillset. Comprehension is a so-called methodical skills, which also includes abilities such as analytical thinking, organisational or presentational talent. Methodological competences help you to work effectively and to cope better with difficult tasks at work.

Good comprehension skills are basically understood as the ability to take in the core of facts, contexts, information, explanations and descriptions quickly and exactly, and then to understand and to implement them accordingly. This is often equated with thinking ability, knowledge or even intelligence.

Why is quick comprehension so important in professional life?

Quick comprehension is one of the most important skills in professional life, no question about it: If you are able to understand quickly, you can grasp subjects quickly, are trained in no time and can complete your tasks independently within a short time. What boss doesn't want an employee to whom they don't have to explain everything three times?

In today's world of work it is becoming increasingly important to be able to navigate extensive and complex contexts quickly and correctly. It is not for nothing that companies are looking for candidates who are focused on the matter and do not lose sight of the essentials. After all, in many professions great challenges await you. Decisions have to be made, but they have to be made reliably, for example in a medical emergency.

Fast comprehension can be extremely helpful in any life situation, for example in IT, in technical professions or also in journalism, where speed is often important.

Can I improve my comprehension skills?

Do you feel that you are not totally hopeless in terms of your comprehension, but that there is still potential for improvement? Don't stress, because there's good news for you: most soft skills can be practised - including your comprehension. 

On the one hand, you gradually gain more experience on the job and establish a professional routine, which can help you enormously to understand issues betterand faster. Especially at the beginning it is advisable that you write down work steps so that you can follow them again later. On the other hand, your assertiveness is closely related to your cognitive abilities. Brain jogging is exactly the right thing to do if you want to improve your perception.

So if you regularly train your brain , you'll push your thinking speed, optimise your concentration and be able to memorise things better - and of course this also benefits your comprehension. Go to the supermarket without a shopping list, learn a new language or read a book instead of binging the new series on Netflix. You'll see what you get out of it!

Presenting comprehension skills in your application: How to do it right!

Your application is the key to your dream job. As a first step, a good application can at least get you an appointment for the interview. In your cover letter and CV you should therefore sell yourself particularly well and present yourself to the recruiter from your best side. However, many prospective career starters often put this into practice wrongly in their application and thus obstruct valuable opportunities for landing the job.

First of all, you should always read the requirements for the job very carefully. What skills are specifically expected of you there? But beware: It is not always obvious from the job advertisement that comprehensions skills are required. Sometimes you also have to read between the lines.

Something like this:

• Your strong thirst for knowledge and a high willingness to learn set you apart!
• You are curious and have the stamina to familiarise yourself quickly and precisely with new fields of work.
• We are looking for somebody who can learn quickly, has a structured way of working and a pronounced orientation towards results.

Now, how can you put your comprehension skills into words in your application credibly without coming across as exaggerating or even boring? The best way to do this is with specific examples. For instance, use experiences that you have already gathered in your studies, in a student job or in an internship. In this way, you can show why you have fast comprehension and where you have already been able to demonstrate this successfully. Nothing is more boring than a pointless string of your positive qualities without going into more detail.

You could formulate this better in your application:

"During my studies, I worked as a student assistant at the university. My tasks included the preparation and evaluation of complex scientific data."

"When I worked as a student trainee, I was able to take responsibility for my own tasks after only a short induction period and was even regularly entrusted with replacing my colleagues on leave."

"I take great interest in my tasks. If I don't understand something, I have to look it up at the next opportunity. I take my notebook with me everywhere."

So get creative and think about how you can support your quick comprehension skills with a CV example. A recruiter notices immediately when an applicant has given real thought and is not dealing with a person who puts any old thing in their application. Good luck!

Are you still looking for the right job to prove your ability to grasp things quickly? No problem, you can find the perfect job for you on our platform or in our JobTeaser app! Here you can find a wide variety of jobs from 80,000 companies across Europe! Sounds good? Then get to work! 

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