Leadership/Team Building: Leadership skills are not only critical for supervisory positions, but also for candidates who may want rise to positions where they'll give directions to others, experts say.
Team Player: Employers like people who play well with others. Even if the job you seek isn't officially part of a team, an employer may want examples of how you collaborated with people who don't report to you.
Goal-Oriented Self-Starter: This doesn't necessarily require motivating others. While employers don't necessarily want loose canons or mavericks, they do appreciate people who don't need to be told what to do and can set their own tasks and follow through.
Excellent Communicator: No matter what the core job duties are, the ability to write a coherent memo or email, give clear verbal instructions and help meetings run smoothly -- or, at least, not sabotage meetings -- will probably be needed.
Flexibility/Multitasking Ability: Sometimes employers will call this the "ability to wear many hats." Most professionals have multiple job duties even in the best of times. In an environment rife with layoffs, managers are especially comforted knowing a candidate can take on even unanticipated tasks.
Sense of Humor: Unless you're applying to Comedy Central, you don't have to make them double over laughing, according to John McKee, president and founder of BusinessSuccessCoach.net and author of Career Wisdom. "While I don't hear recruiters asking for candidates who can tell a joke well, I do believe that evidence of light-heartedness and/or the ability to lighten up a tough situation is valued, and self deprecation seems to be well-received," he says.