STEM | HOW TO GET HIRED
Five Soft Skills for STEM While the STEM sector places an emphasis on technical skills, you still need valuable soft skills to succeed in the industry.
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s a graduate fresh out of university still riding on the unique high of convocation, you may have found an innate tendency to rely solely on your academic skills. However, keep in mind that recruiters are looking out for more than just paper qualifications. When it comes to standing out from your peers, you’ll have to depend on your soft skills to succeed in the long run. On top of that, these soft skills will be incredibly vital once you start work. Most areas of work in STEM necessitate multiple teams across different disciplines, and making complex analyses may even require working in a large group. In other words, cooperation within a team is one of the deciding factors of a project’s success – or its failure. That said, here are five soft skills you need in the STEM sector.
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An ability to work in a team
Many positions in the STEM sector involve team-based work, and this is why most employers will specify, at some point or another, that they’re looking for candidates who can work well in teams. Effective skills in teamwork means knowing how to operate smoothly and efficiently with others as a collective group. This will call upon your capacity of being a team player – or even a team leader – and requires good communication and social skills, as well as the ability to compromise and negotiate in a professional manner. Still, all this talk about teamwork doesn’t mean that you should forgo your individualism in your applications! Do your best to strike a balance between your individuality and your aptitude for teamwork during your applications and interviews.
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STEM Career Guide 2022
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Interpersonal skills
The ability to communicate effectively, accurately and clearly with clients and colleagues alike is a vital skill to have in the professional sphere. As such, having solid interpersonal skills and being a good communicator means that you can deliver a message in a conspicuous and efficient manner. These skills are especially important in some consultancy roles as expert technical information may need to be conveyed in non-specialist language, and many research-based jobs in the sector will also have you presenting findings and papers to a crowd with minimal jargon. However, communication is a twoway street, and a big part of it is being an active listener. Try to process questions fully before responding to them in order to not only avoid miscommunication, but also to ensure that your answers are thoughtful and address any concerns or uncertainties. If you feel like you’re unclear with anything, there’s nothing wrong with asking them to repeat the question (although try not to overdo it). Interpersonal skills include non-verbal communication too. Take note of your body language and remember to have good etiquette at work; stand up, greet and exchange handshakes with others, especially if it’s your first time meeting them.
