Comments on: Sharpen Your Soft Skills

By: Shannon

Shannon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:04:17 +0000

I agree that a lot of people, hiring managers included, take soft skills for granted, even though they are often the determining factors of whether or not a potential hire would excel in the role and fit in with the company’s culture. That’s why I appreciate that the company I work for, OneWire, considers soft skills to be a very important aspect of a candidate’s qualifications. On OneWire, candidates create detailed profiles to be considered for opportunities. Instead of asking that they submit a typical resume, OneWire asks candidates to be as detailed as possible, and even encourages them to include as many hobbies, skills, sports, and interests in their profile as they would like, to demonstrate their set of soft skills.

By: 1 Serial Entrepreneur

1 Serial Entrepreneur — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:59:23 +0000

Nice post. Like someone else said…alot of people take these for granted, but it is absolutely essential to really focus on improving these qualities…
especially verbal.

Many people don’t look at this and fret at the idea of speaking directly to their fellow employees, let alone to a group. It’s imperative that people making verbal communication a strong part of their skill set.

After all, how else will one be heard?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:46:06 +0000

Kristen, I’ve been hired under similar pretenses – though not as a writer. When I left the military I had a background that was needed, though I didn’t have some of the technical skills the job required. The military knowledge and willingness to learn got me in the door. I was hired and learned the technical skills necessary for the job (fun stuff involving databases and stats).

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:44:05 +0000

I think anyone can look good on paper. It’s what you do beyond the print on your resume that distinguishes you from others in the workplace.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:27:13 +0000

Interesting post. From my perspective, many of the things you listed as “soft” skills are actually the hard skills of my profession. A great deal of my job is focused on writing and public speaking. I think things like writing, public speaking and listening are considered soft skills in more technical positions like engineering, accounting, etc. Nevertheless, they are skills that are very important to have no matter what your profession.

I’ve actually run across quite a few business and technical publications over the years looking for writers. I’ve interviewed at a few of these places and was very upfront about the fact that I do not have any kind of a background in whatever the subject matter was. In all cases I was told they wanted someone who could write first, and they would train the new hire on the technical aspects of the business. I thought that was interesting. It wasn’t what I expected to hear.

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:22:24 +0000

Nice post! These are basic skills that people take for granted, but they are the qualifications that can set you apart. I used to work with several Columbia U. graduates, two had personality and advanced and two did not and went nowhere fast . . .