The Importance of Soft Skills
The future workplace is relying more and more on soft skills, these are character traits and interpersonal skills that will influence the work of a person and their interactions with others. The term “soft skills” covers a wide range of skills as diverse as teamwork, time management, empathy and leadership, and it is heavily demanded in companies and firms. But what makes these skills as crucial as hard skills, if not more valuable?
Despite the necessity of hard skills such as writing, programming, and proofreading, workplaces nowadays are looking for skills that will boost their productivity and make the work environment a positive and fresh one. So here are seven reasons why you need to sharpen your soft skills:
Leadership positions are given to professionals with leadership and communication skills. It is those skills that make the recruiters notice you over other candidates, which allows for room to grow professionally by occupying several roles, interacting within various teams, and achieving more goals.
From the beginning of your career, through every step of its progress, soft skills are the catalyst that triggers this chain of growth. They allow you to begin a successful career and maintain it because you have the indispensable tools to work in harmony within a team, deliver presentations, hold meetings…
Gone are the days where each person works individually behind a closed door. The large majority of workplaces is centered on team based projects. These sorts of projects cannot be completed solely upon having hard skills. Abilities such as intelligent collaboration, active listening, and clear communication are heavily required for organizations. In fact, the success of a workplace is conditioned to the quality of the interpersonal skills of its workers.
The latter is a result of the modernisation the world is going through. Artificial intelligence and automatic machines are saving everyone the time of performing tasks, whereas they cannot show signs of the required soft skills (i.e., customer relationship, creativity, critical thinking…). Soft skills cannot be manufactured, hence, their uniqueness.
Your personal network and professional circle hinge on your communication abilities, along with a set of other personal skills. Strong soft skills imply an ability to expand their reach to an assembly of professional stakeholders in various fields. For this particular reason, you gain the means to secure life altering opportunities for yourself and the company hiring you.
Today, many companies are hiring in function of the clients they expect would be drawn to their company if they end up hiring a certain individual. Consequently, candidates must stand out with their networks and circles.
Soft skills are similar to a fancy wrapping paper on a valuable gift. They cover your hard skills, giving them even more merit and making them more appealing. Because these skills enable you to be an effective communicator, you can talk freely and confidently about yourself vis-a-vis other professionals. Managing conflicts becomes a usual task, managing stress a habit, and overcoming challenges a hobby.
On this account, you gain more confidence in your abilities because you are assured you will bring them to good use. Confidence shows in every aspect, from the way you speak to how you carry yourself, your entourage would be able to pick on your confidence and would appreciate you accordingly.
Soft skills are contagious. They can easily be transferred from one person to another. By harnessing such skills, you are also being a positive influence to your entourage which gives the company not one, but a team of positively trained professionals.
Unfortunately, just because such skills are teachable does not mean they are taught in schools. As a matter of fact, school may be a medium for the growth of these skills but it eventually depends on the learner to make the most out of their academic and professional experiences.
Exhibiting soft skills is a huge asset for an individual’s professional and personal life. While hard skills can only take you so far, soft skills ensure you have the needed resources to become a stellar professional.
So, what soft skills do you have or see yourself building in the future? Leave your answer about the soft skills in the comment section below or on our social media accounts “Facebook”, “Instagram”.
