What Are Persistence Skills? (With Examples)

Persistence is a personality trait that is characterized by the determination to achieve a goal despite the obstacles and delays that you may encounter. Many successful people tend to persist in their endeavors until they accomplish what they set out to do. They never give up.

Persistent people are usually said to have grit. Other words that are associated with this personality trait include determination, resilience, patience, endurance, and stamina.

If you have persistence, you may also be described as someone who is resolute, stubborn, tenacious, and indefatigable.

What Are Persistence Skills?

Persistence skills are all abilities and qualities that enable you to endure and overcome challenges in the workplace.

As an employee, you should be the kind of person that is known to persevere. That’s because employers tend to look for people with personality traits that enable them to weather adversity.

How to Improve Your Perseverance as an Employee

You can improve your ability to persevere in the face of adversity, but you will need to train yourself to have a more positive mindset. You also need to acquire soft skills that enable you to cope with obstacles and delays.

Here are the ways you can become someone who perseveres:

• Articulate your vision. Vision refers to where you intend to be in the future in terms of your personal life and career.

  Articulating your vision means identifying your current and future needs and wants, writing down the goals you want to achieve, and defining what success looks like to you.

  You should also list the various ways you intend to achieve your vision. Include how you intend to measure and track your performance over time.

  Without having a vision, you will lack direction. And your actions will not be intentional. Also, you will likely lack the motivation to accomplish your goals since you won’t have a sense of purpose.

  It helps if you can break down your vision. That will enable you to determine what your short-term goals are, as well as those goals you would like to achieve five or ten years from now.

  Setting milestones will ensure that your goals don’t overwhelm you. The long-term goals will seem more achievable. And the obstacles before you will not seem so insurmountable.

• Begin to work hard. Hard-working people can invest physical and mental energy into achieving their goals even when it’s difficult to do so. It’s an aspect of perseverance because when done right, it will help you overcome your challenges and delays to achieve success.

  One way to work hard is to study, complete assignments, and ensure that you pass your examinations.

  Learning is not always easy. It requires you to gain new knowledge, retain that information, and recall it when it matters. That takes a lot of mental energy.

  That is why achieving academic success lets your employers know that you are persistent.

  You also need to put in some hard work in your career. Ensure that you contribute ideas that will benefit your employers. And when you are given work to do, make sure that your tasks are completed.

  But it’s not enough to complete your tasks. The work you do must be done diligently so that it is accurate and helps your organization meets its overall objectives.

  And if you have team members that are unable to complete their tasks, it won’t hurt for you to put in more work to help your team finish its projects.

  Those who have a poor work-ethic are known to be lazy. And no employer wants a lazy, unproductive person. So, endeavor to have a strong work ethic that will impress everyone that works with you. Then they will recommend you to other employers if the need arises.

• Learn the art of persuasion. Persuasion is the process of influencing people to take actions that you want them to take.

  To become a persistent person, you must also be highly persuasive. There is a reason why “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie is a popular book recommendation for anyone looking to learn the art of persuasion.

  That’s because you may need to convince people to change their minds to overcome challenges or delays in your way.

  Persuasion involves several things. First, you must be able to build rapport with your audience. Start by smiling. You would be amazed at how effective a smile is at breaking the ice.

  Teach yourself to refrain from complaining and criticizing others all the time. Sometimes, it’s best to say nothing if you don’t have anything good to say. If you need to raise an issue, offer constructive criticism.

  Also, take an active interest in people. Encourage them to talk about themselves and be attentive when they do. Show a genuine appreciation for who they are as well as their accomplishments. They will be more receptive to what you have to say later on.

  To influence a change in someone, you must make them desire it. Position yourself as a reliable expert by gaining knowledge in your niche and sharing it. Consumers prefer dealing with those that seem to have solutions to their problems.

  Persuasion is a core trait that is required for certain lines of work.

  For example, if you apply for a sales representative position, you must be able to persuade customers to buy company products and services.

  Such jobs tend to predominantly pay based on commissions. If you cannot persuade consumers to buy anything, your earnings may take a hit.

  Sometimes persuasion is the only viable way of overcoming challenges.

• Embrace effective communication. Communication is the exchange of information. If there is bad communication between parties, then misunderstandings may arise.

  Good communication is necessary for conflict management. Sometimes, the obstacles that you face as you set about achieving your goals could simply be caused by your inability to express yourself well. And your circumstances could change the minute you express yourself better.

  Learning to communicate well will take time. But if you put in the work, you may end up getting what you want from people much faster. You can start by being a good listener.

  Do not interrupt people when they speak. And when it’s your turn, articulate your words so that they can be heard clearly.

  Also, master body language. It will help you pick up nonverbal cues from your audience. It will also enable you to master your own body so that you don’t come across negatively to your audience.

  You could end up losing points in an interview simply because you slouch, which makes you appear lazy and disrespectful.

  You may have to practice the right moves in the mirror and in front of your friends until they become second nature. Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself though. Practice makes perfect.

• Open yourself to learning. To persist to the point of success requires a teachable spirit. You must be willing to acknowledge that you don’t know something. Then you must learn what you don’t know.

  If the new knowledge and skills are difficult to learn, then you must put in the effort to acquire them. You need to exhibit a high level of competency concerning the new skills that you acquire. These could be either soft or technical skills.

  The more proficient you are, the more likely a potential employer is to hire you for the job you apply for.

  The ability to accept constructive criticism is a very important aspect of learning. If you cannot open yourself up to feedback, you are unlikely to improve. And if you cannot do things better after experiencing failures before, then you cannot overcome obstacles that stand in the way of your success.

• Stay committed to the course. Commitment is the ability to remain dedicated to a cause of action. Commitment makes a difference when the going gets tough and you suffer setbacks.

  It is one of the major components of perseverance. And it can determine your level of success in achieving your goals.

  One way to stay committed is to set routines. That means doing the same thing repeatedly so long as it moves you closer to your goals.

  Sometimes those tasks will be boring. But if you look at the bigger picture and stay on course, you will eventually get there.

  Proper time-management will also improve your chances of success. How you manage your time can greatly influence your productivity and performance. Additionally, learn to adapt to situations and find new ways of dealing with them.

  It’s much more difficult to persevere when you are always dealing with poor performance. But it’s easier to deal with your challenges if you can see some improvements over time.

  You also need to put in place accountability measures. These will help you to be answerable for your actions at all times. Being accountable enables you to claim responsibility for your actions and the consequences. It gives you ownership of your achievements.

  If you struggle to stay committed on your own, you should think about getting mentors.

  Having trusted advisors will help you look at your actions differently. These mentors will also help you stay accountable.

  And you will be able to use their advice to avoid pitfalls that threaten your ability to persevere and be successful.

• Start to think critically. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate situations and then make correct decisions.

  It would be wise for you to find ways of improving your critical thinking skills. One way to do that is by undertaking skills-training courses aimed at improving your ability to think critically.

  Attend workshops, online courses, and webinars that offer these kinds of lessons.

  You also need to teach yourself to view things with an open mind. Instead of making snap judgments, evaluate the existing evidence, and ask questions to find out more information. Learn to collect data using the right procedures. But also know when to trust your gut.

  Don’t be afraid to work things through in your mind at your own pace. Everyone is gifted differently. Use your creativity to find unique solutions to problems.

• Develop a self-confident attitude. Self-confidence is the ability to trust in who you are and value yourself. Your imperfections and other people’s opinions of you don’t affect how you view yourself. Self-confident people tend to trust their own decisions.

  Some challenges can be mentally and physically taxing. They can make you question everything you know about life and work. You will find it difficult to maintain an optimistic attitude after experiencing failure continuously.

  Self-esteem is what will give you the willpower to continue. It enables you to plow through an impossible situation knowing you will find the solution at some point because you are capable.

  If you don’t trust your instincts and abilities, then it’s almost impossible to be persistent. At the first sign of trouble, you will quit.

• Improve your emotional intelligence (EQ). Emotional intelligence is the understanding, use, and self-management of one’s emotions positively.

  People with a high EQ are empathetic and can identify and relieve their stress. They are also good communicators. And they have the insight into other people’s emotions that enables them to resolve conflicts.

  Emotional intelligence is a desirable interpersonal skill. It can enable you to express yourself in a way that solves some of your work challenges. A high EQ also provides you with the knowledge that you need to lead projects and resolve conflicts along the way.

Final Thoughts

It takes a variety of personal qualities and skills to turn you into a persistent employee that stands out to hiring managers. So, endeavor to develop and improve those qualities. And don’t forget to include them in your resume and job application emails.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.