Soft skills Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person’s “EQ” (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person’s IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities. A person’s soft skill is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of an organization.
Particularly those organizations dealing with customers face-to-face are generally more successful if they train their staff to use these skills. Screening or training for personal habits or traits such as dependability and conscientiousness can yield significant return on investment for an organization. [2] For this reason, soft skills are increasingly sought out by employers in addition to standard qualifications. It has been suggested that in a number of professions soft skills may be more important over the long term than occupational skills.
The legal profession is one example where the ability to deal with people effectively and politely, more than their mere occupational skills, can determine the professional success of a lawyer. [3] Examples of soft skills •Teach others •Coach others •Motivate others •Provide services •Negotiate •Decision making •Problem solving •Active Listening •Maintain meaningful conversation (discussion/debate) •Defuse arguments with timing, instructions and polite, concise language •Foresee situations Self-awareness Proactive Soft skills play a vital role for professional success; they help one to excel in the workplace and their importance cannot be denied in this age of information and knowledge. Good soft skills — which are in fact scarce — in the highly competitive corporate world will help you stand out in a milieu of routine job seekers with mediocre skills and talent. A Definition of Soft Skills Some of us might be cureous to realise what exactly soft skills is.
We could say that soft skills refers to personality traits, social graces, facility with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark people to varying degrees. Soft skills complement hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job. It can also be an important part of the success of an organization, especially if the organisation is dealing with customers Personal Qualities: •responsibility, •self-esteem, •sociabilty, •self-management, •integrity/honesty. Interpersonal Skills •Participates as a member of the Team Teaches others •Serves Client / Customers •Exercises Leadership •Negotiates •Works with cultural diversity Soft and Hard Skills Definition Soft skills, sometimes also known as “people skills,” are personal attributes that enhance an individual’s interactions, like job performance and career prospects. Unlike hard skills, which tend to be specific to a certain type of task or activity, soft skills are broadly applicable. Soft skills are sometimes broken down into personal attributes, such as: •optimism •common sense •responsibility a sense humor •integrity •time-management •motivation and interpersonal abilities, such as: •empathy •leadership •communication •good manners •sociability •the ability to teach It’s often said that hard skills will get you an interview but you need soft skills to get the job. HARD SKILLS. Definition Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that may be required in a given context, such as a job or university application. Examples of hard skills are •typing •mathematical ability •speaking a foreign language •calculus
