29-03-2012, 12:09 PM
Soft Skills
Soft Skills.doc (Size: 159 KB / Downloads: 47)
Technical and job-related skills are a must, but they are not sufficient when it comes to finding a job or progressing up the ladder. With the traditional style of leadership becoming out of fashion, professional managers expect their employees to have something extra which is called a soft skills.
Soft skills are essentially people skills. They are non-technical, intangible, personality specific skills that determines one strengths as a leader, listener, negotiator and conflict mediator. Hard skills, on the other hand, are more along the lines of what might appear in one’s resume – your education, experience and level of expertise.
Soft skills is a term which refers to personality traits, social graces, facility with language, personal habits, friendliness and optimism that mark people to varying degrees.
Importance of soft skills
Soft skills play a significant role in one’s success in life particularly in one’s profession. They help one to excel in the workplace and their importance cannot be denied in this age of information and knowledge. Soft skills in the highly competitive corporate world will help you stand out in a crowd of regular job seekers with ordinary skills and talent.
Soft skills are very important in business. It is essential to be technically sound, but one should also have the ability to convey the idea to the masses in the simplest possible manner. Planning is necessary but execution is also equally necessary. And it takes soft skills to execute any idea because it involves dealing with people directly.
Selling soft skills
HR managers are of the opinion that they are ready to hire workers who demonstrate a high level of ‘soft skills’ and then train them for the specific jobs available. It is true that for getting a job or to progress through the career, one need to undergo professional training to keep you up-to-date. One may undergo lot of technical training to meet the industry requirements but one should also be aware that they need to possess soft skills. Technical experts who have good soft skills will always be in demand.
Attributes regarded as soft skills –
In addition to key competencies like strong analytical skills, reasoning skills and a proven ability to manage complex information that employers are looking for, desirable soft skills which include –
1) Interpersonal skills – these include the ability to lead, motivate and delegate. They are important at every level of organizational responsibility and should always be evident. Being the most technical person in a field, is not always enough to succeed unless one has the ability to convince others that what he is doing is important
2) Team working – today’s world is driven by innovation leading to constant change and success of an organization depends on its teams. Thus it has become mandatory to train the employees in all spheres of management. Team building is one of the crucial areas in which the employees need to be trained.
3) Negotiation skills – negotiating in a way means one is able to achieve desired outcomes and still maintain successful ongoing relationships with others.
How to train yourself –
1) Be a part of team activities
2) Ask family members or friends to write down your best and worst traits
3) How well do you manage your time?
4) Practice the habit of getting feedback
5) Practice the habit of giving feedback
6) Live consciously
Practice Soft skills –
1) Have a positive attitude
2) Be a team player
3) Communicate effectively
4) Exude confidence
5) Develop creative skills