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 1. About SNHU
 2. Newsroom
 3. Career


WHAT ARE SOFT SKILLS AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT IN THE WORKPLACE?

Joe Cote
April 03, 2018
Communication Skills

Landing your next - or first - great job is all about marketing yourself to
employers. You need to develop the skills employers are looking for and be able
to showcase those hard-earned skills to get the new career or promotion you
want.

So what are employers looking for? What are the most marketable skills? Luckily,
employers are talking, and what they're talking about is less about job-specific
knowledge, technical knowledge or extensive experience with complicated computer
programs or models. They want leaders, communicators and critical thinkers.

'Soft' Marketable Skills

Monster.com contributor Daniel Bortz reported on the National Association of
Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2017 survey that found that soft skills,
those not defined by your job role or technical knowledge such as communication
and teamwork, were high on employers' wish list for employees. In fact, 78% of
the hiring managers who answered the survey want employees who can work well as
part of a team and work with a variety of personality types.

Nearly as many managers, 77%, look for employees who can think critically. Other
soft skills managers listed included:

 * Writing proficiency - 75%
 * Strong work ethic - 72%
 * Verbal communication - 70%
 * Leadership - 69%

A Forbes article in May 2016 reported similar results, based on a Payscale
survey, but focused on skills hiring managers said they struggled to find among
prospective employees.

 * 60% said new employees in their organization struggled with critical thinking
   and problem-solving skills.
 * More than half said employees didn't have enough attention to detail.
 * 46% said new workers need communication skills improved.
 * 44% said employees lacked leadership ability.
 * 36% said improvement was needed in team working skills.


HOW TO DEVELOP MARKETABLE SOFT SKILLS

Another Monster.com article by Bortz delves further into specific soft skills
and ways you can work to develop them. There's no comprehensive list of soft
skills and each of them have a variety of personal attributes that contribute to
your mastery of them. But some of the most commonly mentioned soft skills
include:

 * Verbal Communication - Being able to clearly and concisely communicate with
   other people in your company is the only way to minimize mistakes and
   inefficiencies that come from miscommunication. It defines how the people
   around you perceive you and therefore your relationship with them. Bortz
   recommends joining Toastmasters, a national group that teaches public
   speaking.
 * Teamwork - It's likely that no matter what profession you're in, you will
   need to collaborate with other people to solve problems and accomplish
   projects.
 * Time Management - Let's face it. Some of us are procrastinators. Everyone
   puts off unpleasant or difficult tasks at least some of the time. If you need
   help managing your time, there are plenty of simple steps you can practice -
   and hopefully internalize - to become more efficient.
   U.S. News and World Reports contributor Ritika Trikha recommended trying one
   of four techniques, such as: the Pomodoro Technique, which breaks your
   workday into 25-minute segments followed by a break or the 18-Minute
   Technique, which involved involves spending five minutes each morning
   thinking about a listing your tasks for the day, consciously refocusing for
   one minute per hour of work and then spending five minutes in the evening
   reviewing your day. These techniques and more are detailed in Trikha's
   article.
 * Organization - Even if you're technically proficient in your field, you'll
   face challenges if you can't organize your time, space and workload. A major
   part of being organized is staying on top of your goals, duties and expected
   deliverables. Experiment with different organizational systems - from those
   as simple as a to-do list on a notepad to one of the many tools available
   online - to find what works best for you and your personality type.
 * Writing - In your work, you'll need to create communications, including
   emails, presentation slides and reports, and these have to be easily
   understood by others. While practice is important for improving this soft
   skill, it can also be helpful to receive outside assistance.
 * Critical Thinking - To practice critical-thinking skills, an Entrepreneur
   article laid out a three-step process to approach any problem or project.
   First, clearly Identify your purpose and let that drive each decision you
   make going forward. Second, Identify your biases. Try to consider possible
   solutions from your supervisor's perspective, or your customer's. Finally,
   try to think about the implication of your options. What happens if your
   decision fails? Is that failure an acceptable risk.
 * Leadership - Monster.com contributor Cheri Swales writers that being
   enthusiastic, optimistic, flexible to others' needs and being cooperative can
   help others begin to view you as a leader. Forbes recommends several concrete
   steps, including exploring what kind of leader you are. You can take a
   leadership personality test to get insights on your leadership style and how
   you can adapt that to your company's projects. Improving your communication
   skills, taking leadership roles outside of work through charity work and
   studying how to intentionally build effective teams are other steps suggested
   in the article.

Cindy Sylvester is a business development partner on Southern New Hampshire
University's career services team. She develops relationships with employers and
connects them with students and alumni. She said the employers she talks to most
often say they want prospective employees who are enthusiastic and personable,
and have strong critical thinking, work ethic and leadership skills.



Sylvester said one way to both develop many soft skills and be able to
demonstrate them to potential employers to practice them in the real world.

"We tell our students to get outside of their comfort zone, to volunteer, to
start getting out there," she said. "We heavily emphasize the need to get out
there and do those kinds of activities because it adds to their resume and gives
(employers) that sense of more interaction that may be able to help either their
leadership or critical-thinking skills."

Many colleges and universities offer general education degree programs that
focus on strengthening skills like critical thinking and communication while
through courses like English composition, quantitative reasoning, history and
natural science. While these courses lead to a bachelor's degree in general
studies, they can also help you develop a broad base of soft skills and may
offer concentrations in more specific areas, including business, psychology,
creative writing and more. You'll notice a general education component to every
degree program, required courses that provide a well-rounded overall experience
and allow graduates to develop soft skills as well as hone in on courses
pertinent to a specific area of focus.


ONE EMPLOYER'S MOST DESIRED SKILLS

Christopher Dowd is the administrative director of The Lank Center for
Genitourinary Oncology's Disease Center Operations. He said he looks for
employees that are going to show initiative, self-starters and candidates that
demonstrate they are trying to expand their expertise and experiences, even in
areas that aren't directly related to the job they're applying for.



"I love a resume that shows someone is trying to better themselves, even if it's
getting involved in something that has nothing to do with healthcare," he said.
"A deep toolbox is extremely appealing to me, and many of my colleagues in
healthcare."

There are many ways to demonstrate those traits, Dowd said, including
internships and a job history that shows a candidate is motivated to learn more
about their field. "I love to see candidates who start at the ground level and
are eager to move up," he said.

For candidates who are more advanced in their career, participation in industry
and professional organizations can show that "eagerness to learn and gain
experience," Dowd said.

Employers in a number of industries are looking for employees equipped with soft
skills such as leadership, critical thinking and more. Developing these skills -
and communicating them to prospective employers - can help you take the next
step on your career path.

Joe Cote is a staff writer at Southern New Hampshire University. Follow him on
Twitter @JoeCo2323.


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ABOUT SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY

SNHU is a nonprofit, regionally accredited university with a mission to make
high-quality education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Founded in 1932, and online since 1995, we’ve helped countless students reach
their goals with flexible, career-focused programs. Our 300-acre campus in
Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students, and we serve over 135,000
students online. Visit our about SNHU page to learn more about our mission,
accreditations, leadership team, national recognitions and awards.


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