Thetop60softskillsatwork

AmitKumardidhisMTechfromIIT,NewDelhi[ Images ].HehasanMBAfromIIM,Ahmedabad[ Images].Buthestillcouldnotgetthejobofhischoiceduringcampusrecruitment.

Reason: Blame it on his soft skills. Or rather the lack of them. Theseincludecommunication, listening, negotiation,etiquette,languageskillsetc.Hence,hecouldnotcompetewithhisfellowstudentswhogot b betterjobs.

Soft skills play a vital role for professional success; they help one to excel in the workplace and their importancecannotbedeniedinthisageofinformationandknowledge.Goodsoftskillswhichareinfact scarceinthehighlycompetitivecorporateworldwillhelpyoustandoutinamilieuofroutinejobseekers withmediocreskillsandtalent.

TheSmythCountyIndustryCouncil,agoverningbodybasedintheUS,conductedasurveyrecently.The resultsofthesurveywascalledtheWorkforceProfilewhichfound"anacrosstheboardunanimousprofile of skills and characteristics needed to make a good employee." The people most likely to be hired for availablejobshavewhatemployerscall"softskills".

Hereweresomeofthefindingsaccordingtotheworkforcestudy:

Themostcommontraits,mentionedbyvirtuallyeveryemployer,were:

~Positiveworkethic.

~Goodattitude.

~Desiretolearnandbetrained.

MohanRao,atechnicaldirectorwithEmmellenBiotechPharmaceuticalsLtd,Mumbai[Images]definesa 'goodattitude:"It isabehaviouralskill,whichcannot betaught.However it canbedevelopedthrough continuoustraining.Itrepresentsthereactivenatureoftheindividualandisaboutlookingatthingswith therightperspective.Youmustbereadytosolveproblemsproactivelyandcreatewinwinsituations.And youmustbeabletotakeownershipieresponsibilityforyouractionsandleadfromthefrontwithoutcalling itquitsatthemostcriticalmoment."Mostofthebusinessleadersobservedthattheycouldfindworkerswho have"hardskills"iethecapabilitytooperatemachineryorfulfillothertasks,butmanypotentialhireslack the"softskills"thatacompanyneeds.CEOsandhumanresourcemanagerssaidtheyarereadytohire

workerswhodemonstrateahighlevelof"softskills"andthentrainthemforthespecificjobsavailable.The everchangingimpactoftechnologyhasgivenhardskillsonlyworkersashortshelflife.

AccordingtoresultsoftheWorkforceProfile,(source:www.workforce.com)themorevaluableemployeeis onewhocangrowandlearnasthebusinesschanges.

Softskills"areasimportant,ifnotmoreimportant,thantraditionalhardskillstoanemployerlookingto hireregardlessofindustryorjobtype.Thiscouldofferamajorbreakthroughaseducatorsandtraining providersseektodevelopandclustertrainingcoursestofitbusinessandindustryneeds."Top60softskills T TheWorkforceProfiledefinedabout60"softskills",whichemployersseek.Theyareapplicabletoanyfield ofwork,accordingtothestudy,andarethe"personaltraitsandskillsthatemployersstatearethemost important when selecting employees for jobs of any type."1. Math.2. Safety.3. Courtesy.4. Honesty.5. Grammar.6. Reliability.7. Flexibility.8. Team skills.9. Eye contact. 10. Cooperation. 11. Adaptability.12.

Followrules.13.Selfdirected.14Goodattitude.15.Writingskills.16.Driver'slicense.17.Dependability.18. Advancedmath.19.Selfsupervising.20.Goodreferences.21.Beingdrugfree. 22.Goodattendance.23. Personalenergy.24.Workexperience.25.Abilitytomeasure.26.Personalintegrity.27.Goodworkhistory. 28.Positiveworkethic.29.Interpersonalskills.30.Motivationalskills.31.Valuingeducation.32.Personal chemistry. 33. Willingness to learn. 34.Common sense. 35. Critical thinking skills. 36. Knowledge of fractions.37.Reportingtoworkontime.38.Useofrulersandcalculators.39.Goodpersonalappearance.40. Wantingtodoagoodjob.41.Basicspellingandgrammar.42.Readingandcomprehension.43.Abilityto followregulations.44.Willingnesstobeaccountable.45.Abilitytofilloutajobapplication.46.Abilityto makeproductionquotas.47.Basicmanufacturingskillstraining.48.Awarenessofhowbusinessworks.49. Stayingonthejobuntilitisfinished.50.Abilitytoreadandfollowinstructions.51.Willingnesstowork secondandthirdshifts.52.Caringaboutseeingthecompanysucceed.53.Understandingwhattheworldis allabout.54.Abilitytolistenanddocumentwhatyouhaveheard.55.Commitmenttocontinuedtraining andlearning.56.Willingnesstotakeinstructionandresponsibility.57.Abilitytorelatetocoworkersina closeenvironment.58.Notexpectingtobecomeasupervisorinthefirstsixmonths.59.Willingnesstobea goodworkerandgobeyondthetraditionaleighthourday.60.Communicationskillswithpublic,fellow employees,supervisors,andcustomers.

Howmanysoftskillsdoyoupossess?

PartII:Howtoimproveyoursoftskills Howtoimproveyoursoftskillsatwork Inapreviousarticlewelisted60softskills,whichifpractisedattheworkplace,couldboostyour professionallife.

Subjectslikefinancialmanagement,marketingmanagement,HRmanagementcanbetaughtinthe classroomandcanbestudiedathome.Butnotsoftskills.Softskillsareacquiredandexperiencedonthe

spotandcannotbedevelopedbymerelyreadingtextbooks. Thesoftskillsyougainwillequipyoutoexcelinyourprofessionallifeandinyourpersonallife.Itisa continuouslearningprocess. The60softskillsmentionedcanbeclassifiedintocorporateskills,employabilityskillsandlifeskills.In somepartsoftheworldlikeinUSAandAustralia[Images],softskillsarealsoknownasworldskills. Corporateskills ThesearegenerallyCEOlevelskills,butifyouarefamiliarwiththemyouwillbeinapositiontoguide yourbosstowardssuccessieworkingtogetherforacommongoalasateam.Youcanbecomeacourageous followerasmentionedbyIraChaleffinhisawardwinningbookCourageousFollower:StandingUpTo andForOurLeaders. Theseskillsinclude:~Politicalsensitivity.~Businessandcommercialawareness.~Strategicawareness. ~Understandingfundingstreamsandmechanisms.~Informationmanagement.~Organisationand control.~Teambuilding.~Communicationandpersuasion.~Networkingandpublicrelations.~Leading c change.

Employabilityskills Thesehavetobemasteredbyemployablegraduatesandfreshersincludecommunication,teamworking, leadership,initiative,problemsolving,flexibilityandenthusiasm. Everyskillhelpsustolearnonemoreastheyoverlapeachother. Toquoteanexample,leadershipencompassesanumberofotherskillsincludingcooperatingwithothers, planningandorganising,makingdecisionsandverbalcommunication.Verbalcommunicationitself involvesvariousmeansofcommunication,someofwhichyoumayfindeasierthanotherstalkingover thephone,makingapresentationtoagroup,explainingsomethingtoapersonwithamorelimited understandingofthetopicforexample. Byimprovingoneskill,youmayalsoimproveanumberofothers.Inthecontextofyourcareerplanning anddevelopment,theyarecalledcareermanagementskillsLifeskillsTheseskillsarerelatedtothehead, heart,handsandhealthiehighlypersonalandbehaviouralskillswhichreflectsourpersonalityand naturallyhelpsinpersonalitydevelopment.Source: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/learningandliving/main/tlsmodel.htmlWemanageandthinkwithour head.Resilience,keepingrecords,makingwiseuseofresources,planning/organisingandgoalsettingare 'head'relatedmanagerialfunctions.Servicelearning,Criticalthinking,problemsolving,decisionmaking andlearningtolearnwererelatedtoourthinkingprocesses,whichwemanagewithourhead.Functionsof theheartarerelatingtopeopleandcaring.Howdowerelatetopeople?Werelatetopeoplebyaccepting differences,conflictresolutions,socialskills,cooperationandcommunication.Thesecondfunctionwedo throughourheartiscaring.Wecarethroughnurturingrelationships,sharing,empathyandconcernfor others.Wegiveandworkthroughourhands.Communityservice,volunteering,leadership,responsible citizenshipandcontributionstogroupeffortareourwaygivingbacktosociety.Weworkthroughour marketableskills,teamworkandselfmotivationtogetthethingsdone.Livingandbeingcomesunderthe functionsofhealth.Healthylifestylechoices,stressmanagement,diseasepreventionandpersonalsafety areourprimeconcernsforbetterliving.Selfesteem,selfresponsibility,character,managingfeelingsand selfdisciplinemustbepracticedwithoutfailforourwellbeing.Inanutshell,theessenceoflifeskillsis sharewell,carewellandfarewell.Thingstodoeveryday

Followthesetengoldenrulesandenjoyeverymomentofliving. ~Greetyourfamilymembersfirstthinginthemorning.Ifyouarenotusedtothis,theywillbesurprised withyoursuddenandnicegesture.~Greetyourpeers,subordinatesandbossonceyouentertheoffice. Smileateventhe'security'personnelstandingatthegate,whotakescareofyoursafety.~Greetyour friendsalongthewayanddonotignorethem.~Continouslyreciprocatetobreedcommunication.Ifyoudo notreciprocateatleastwitha'thanks'whenyougetinformationorasourceonyouronlinenetworkor yourofflinenetwork,youwillnotberememberedforalongtime.Ifyouarenotremembered,youareoutof yournetwork.~Beaproactivelistenerandempathisewithotherstocommandrespect.~Whiletalkingto others,yourvoice,toneandtenormustbeaudibleandsoothing.Itshouldnotbeaggressiveorinashouting mode.~Dresswelltosuityourprofessionandtocreatepositivevibesinyourworkplace.Ifyouarea salesrepresentative,donotgooutwithprintedshirtsandjeans,whichmayturndownyourcustomer. ~Politicalandreligiouscommentsmustbeavoidedatallcostsintheworkplace,whenyouareinagroup. ~Yourcommunicationshouldnotprovokeothers. ~Donotspeakillofothersifyoucanhelpit. Theauthorisacareermanagementconsultantandcorporatetrainer,andiscurrentlyassociated withaimkomconsultrainers.Youmayreachhimataim@aimkom.com.