Strong Soft Skills
I love words. In fact, many hours of the day, you can find me reading or writing. Not only do I love words, I love smart people who use words in creative ways. One of the ways people do this is through oxymorons.
Here are a few of my favorite Oxymorons:
Jumbo Shrimp
Sweet Tart
Good Grief
Hot Chili
Great Depression
Baby Grand Piano
Down Escalator
Fuzzy Logic
Icy Hot
Another Oxymoron that is a favorite is Strong, Soft Skills. While it’s true, it is an oxymoron, it is also incredibly important to your success in life, college, career and in reaching your full potential.
What are Soft Skills?
What are soft skills ? My definition of soft skills are the skills needed to help you communicate and successfully engage with those around you.
Wikipedia’s definition of soft skills:
Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or personality traits, attitudes, mindsets, career attributes,[1] social intelligence and emotional intelligence quotients, among others, that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills.[2] The Collins English Dictionary defines the term “soft skills” as “desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude.”[3]
Soft skills is a composite expression, and each of the two words explains a defining aspect of the concept.
The word “skill” highlights the practical function. The term alone has a broad meaning, and describes a particular ability to complete tasks ranging from easier ones like “learning how to kick a ball”[4] to harder ones like “learning how to be creative.”[4] In this specific instance, the word “skill” has to be interpreted as the ability to master hardly controlled actions.
The word “soft” is the opposite of “hard”, may appear to mean “subjective, fuzzy, and unreliable,” but, “calling these skills soft or non cognitive belies their importance.” [4] Because of their subjectivity, soft skills are often not assessed and yet many in business consulting argue that they lie at the foundation of what makes a leader and will determine if an employee will rise to a leadership position. Soft skills represent personal skills necessary for such activities as team work and motivating others.
While Wikipedia has a lot to say about soft skills, we should break it down to something more manageable and obtainable. If we are going to focus on making our soft skills strong, we are going to need a concrete place to start. This list is not comprehensive in any way, but they are a great place for us to start.
8 Soft Skills That Will Empower You
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Leadership
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Time Management
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Networking
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Teamwork
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Creative Thinking
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Conflict Resolution
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Adaptability
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Organizational Skills
How to Set Yourself Up For Success
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, these soft skills are critical to your success when employers are looking over your resume. Here are some statistics of what they found in their research.
ATTRIBUTE % OF RESPONDENTS
Communication skills (written) 82.0%
Problem-solving skills 80.9%
Ability to work in a team 78.7%
Initiative 74.2%
Analytical/quantitative skills 71.9%
Strong work ethic 70.8%
Communication skills (verbal) 67.4%
Leadership 67.4%
Detail-oriented 59.6%
Technical skills 59.6%
Flexibility/adaptability 58.4%
Computer skills 55.1%
Interpersonal skills (relates well to others) 52.8%
Organizational ability 43.8%
Strategic planning skills 38.2%
Tactfulness 25.8%
Creativity 23.6%
Friendly/outgoing personality 22.5%
Entrepreneurial skills/risk-taker 16.9%
Fluency in a foreign language 11.2%
Source: Job Outlook 2019, National Association of Colleges and Employers
Now that we see the importance of developing our soft skills, we need a plan of action for making them strong. I will spend the next few weeks writing about these soft skills and how you can strengthen them in your life. You will be able to find these on my blog. Having strong, soft skills will help you be successful in applying for jobs, college, graduate programs, scholarships and more. Most importantly, they will help you succeed in life.