Soft Skills Jessica Burns Mike Baker John Klinger

Definition  Soft Skills- refer to the cluster of personality traits, social graces, facility with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark people to varying degrees

Definition  Hard Skills- the technical requirements of a job (assembly, labor, etc)

American Businesses  Beginning to adopt soft skills as a major component of required skills for a job  Blue collar jobs are moving overseas due to lower costs  America moving more towards service industry

Customer Service and Orientation  Focusing more on people than processes  “Today’s service economy and ascendance of work teams in large organizations puts a new premium on people skills and relationship-building” Lori Kocon- human resources expert  Soft skills = People skills=Street Smarts

Soft  Comes from European Social Fund project  Soft outcomes-outcomes from training, support or guidance which are unlike traditional outcomes, for instance, qualifications and jobs which can not be measured directly or tangibly  Balanced Scorecard (virtually impossible to attain numbers)

Soft continued  Soft indicators- means by which we can measure whether the outcomes have been achieved  Indicate acquisition of progress towards an outcome, how we can put a number on measurement of accomplished goals

Common Soft Skills  Strong work ethic  Positive attitude  Good communication skills  Time management abilities  Problem-solving skills  Acting as a team player  Self-confidence  Ability to accept and learn from criticism  Flexibility/adaptability  Working well under pressure

 Strong work ethic-Are you motivated and dedicated to getting the job done, now matter what? Will you be conscientious and do your best work?  Positive attitude-Are you optimistic and upbeat? Will you generate good energy and good will

 Good communication skills- Are you both verbally articulate and a good listener? Can you make your case and express needs in a way that builds bridges with colleagues, customers and vendors  Time management abilities- Do you know how to prioritize tasks and work on a number of different projects at once? Will you use your time on the job wisely?

 Problem-solving skills-are you resourceful and able to creatively solve problems that will inevitably arise? Will you take ownership of problems or leave them for someone else?  Acting as a team player- Will you work well in groups and teams? Will you be cooperative and take a leadership role when appropriate?

 Self-confidence-Do yo truly believe you can do the job? Will you project a sense of calm and inspire confidence in others?  Ability to accept and learn from criticism- Will you be able to handle criticism? Are you coachable and open to learning and growing as a person and a professional?

 Flexibility/Adaptability- Are you able to adapt to new situations and challenges? Will you embrace change and be open to new idea?  Working well under pressure- Can you handle the stress that accompanies deadlines and crises? Will you be able to do your best work and come through in a pinch?

Conclusions  More and more businesses are considering soft skills as an important job criteria  An increase in service industry emphasizes the need for soft skills  Soft skills are used in personal and professional life

 Questions