Understand the importance of soft skills in your life
• Gone are the days when one just had to simply show off his resume to land a job. Today, the interviewer asks, what else? No piece of paper can save you from that question. In that moment, if you manage to convey your message in an effe ti e a er, ou’re i , other ise, ou’re out. Creati e and effective communication is a soft skill among others that differentiates you from the masses. Not everyone can impress people with their words, body language, attitude, confidence, etc. But those who do are a sure shot next generation leaders. Regardless of what your area of expertise is, soft skills are required in these times. This post will throw some light on the importance of soft skills so that you can start to improve yours from today.
Following are considered as soft skills: • • • • • • • • •
Communication Creativity Problem-solving Collaboration Adaptability Learning from criticism Working under pressure Positivity Management
I porta e of soft skills i o e’s life • Imagine a lawyer not being able to speak or make a point. Or, imagine a gym trainer not being able to get clients despite being the most knowledgeable. Instead, a newbie trainer got a lucrative deal, because he portrayed himself as a talented and capable trainer. There are thousands of su h e a ples, the poi t ei g, if ou’re ot able to tell people that you are the right person for the job, they are not going to give you the job. Persuading people is an art you must learn.
The existing work environment requires higher interaction than before • If we look at the work culture from a decade ago, employees showed very little participation in generating new ideas, creativity, conversations, and just focus on their daily tasks. Today, along with your job description, you are also required to analyze and solve different problems, create new ways to do traditional tasks more effectively and efficiently and prove to be a valuable asset to the company. This requires frequent discussions, conferences, presentations, and what not, every single day of your work life. Our ecosystem is moving from a centralized to a decentralized one where everyone has access to infinite opportunities of putting forward their ideas, it is just up to them how well they leverage these opportunities. If you can get people to listen to you, your hard ork o ’t sta u oti ed
Ability to work under pressure • This a ilit itself is a soft skill. B ot letti g our oss’ harsh words mess with your head to be able to finish your work effectively and efficiently is a skill every employee must have. A majority of entry-level jobs today come with a certain degree of pressure. Bosses deliberately put pressure on newcomers to test their performance. After getting a good scolding from your boss, you lose your focus that day, you start to think, after e er thi g that I ha e do e, this is hat I get i retur . If ou are a salesperso , that s oldi g ill take a ajor toll o our perfor a e. You o ’t e a le to interact with your customers with a happy face. As a result, fewer conversions that day
Soft skills: A rare talent • Every person can get the right qualifications required for a job, but not every person successfully equips himself with soft skills. As students, we usually think studying and getting good grades are our top priority, the rest can be done at a later stage. This thinking restricts talented people to acquire soft skills on time. These skills are really hard to develop and take time. By simply doing a course on perso alit de elop e t for a o th o ’t get soft skills. Only by applying that knowledge on a regular basis will enhance your soft skills. That is exactly why we should encourage students to take part in debates, discussions, clubs, etc. Along with academics, an equal focus should be on extra-curricular activities for an overall personality development.