The U.S. economy is recovering slowly. With the rate of unemployment going down slowly, an average of 150,000 jobs are being created each month, reported CNN Money. However, employers are always complaining about the problem of unavailability of perfect candidates for a particular job.

The Wall Street Journal has come up with certain requirements that one must possess in order to survive in the upcoming tough job market of 2013.  The qualities that employers will usually be looking for in the tough market of 2013 are:

1.      Clear Communication -

It is of utmost importance that one must have great communication skills and have a transparent idea about what they are looking for and what they would like to do.

"This is really the ability to clearly articulate your point of view and the ability to create a connection through communication," Holly Paul, recruiting head of a NY based accounting and consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, told WSJ.

2.      Personal Branding -

Personal branding is the area where one markets oneself. With the rise in usage and dependency on social media, employers cut down their research to run background checks on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. The more impressive your profile looks the better are your chances of landing a job. It is important that your profile reflects well the areas you worked in and your previous employers.

3.      Flexibility -

Employers look for more flexible candidates because they cannot keep hiring people for every changing need. Therefore, being open to options and changes is a sign of flexibility which will be one of the most important traits employers will look out for while hiring next year.

4.      Productivity Improvement -

In the coming year, employees have to figure out new ways of constantly improvising on their work and increasing their productivity rates. Being proactive is the key to distinguish you from others. Constantly developing skills, speed and knowledge should be a major point of improvisation.

Employers also have to brush up on their hiring and talent spotting skills, reported WSJ.

"The ability to spot talent and hire people has fallen out of use over the last several years," Ben Dattner, a NY based organizational psychologist told WSJ.

"As the economy turns around, companies will have to work harder to retain talented employees. Companies have trimmed the fat, and now they have to build the muscle." he added.