Post on 28-Dec-2015
Why Soft Skills Matter:
2010 Job Outlook
Beverly Amer, Northern Arizona
University
Backstory
Soft Skills are:Traits, attitudes and behaviors
rather than technical skills and abilitiesMore important than ever in today’s job
marketA challenge to teach in “technical”
courses!
Why Do Soft Skills Matter?Job Outlook 2010
Annual Survey – National Association of Colleges and EmployersAcross all industries and regions of US
College Hiring:
DOWN 7% for 2010 grads over last year
DOWN 37% in West
Take Out Your Phones!
Top Five Majors - West
Mechanical EngineeringFinanceElectrical EngineeringAccountingBusiness Administration/Management
What Employers Are Looking For
Greater emphasis on GPA as an interview screen
75% of employers use a GPA screenMost common cutoff is 3.0 GPA
On resume’ – choosing one candidate over anotherLeadership positionMajorHigh GPA (3.0 +)Extra-curricular activitiesVolunteer work
What About Work Experience?
76.6% prefer someone with relevant work experienceInternships count here
And Soft Skills?
Communication skills top the list of attributes employers desire most
Other attributes near the top:Strong work ethicInitiativeInterpersonal skillsProblem-solving skillsTeamwork skills
Oddly Enough…Attributes employers list as MOST
LACKING in college graduates?Communication skillsFlexibility/adaptabilityTactfulnessInitiativeTeamwork skills
Note: Only 2.3% of employers reported that computer skills are lacking
Soft Skills Case Study:Communication Skills
Scenario: First research report assignment at workTopic: Workplace entrepreneurship
Decision: What should I include in my report and e-mail message?
Video from Soft Skills at Work
Meet Jill and Marcus
Video Critique
TaskReview Jill and Marcus’ reports and e-mail
messagesCorrect errors
How did they do?
In a CIS course, where could this be introduced as an assignment?
Results?
Swap papers with another group
Assign a grade – how did we do?
Why I Teach Communication Skills & E-Mail Etiquette
“I submitted the wrong one, i will attach it to this file, oh and i put average next to the average cause it didnt make sence not to, and im sorry if i was just meant to tell you and you would forget about that one but i dont know if i will be here in the morning to check my email but ya i will just attach it to this file, well see you tomorrow”
Soft Skills & Your StudentsHow can you help your students start
developing their:Communication skillsInterpersonal skillsProblem-solving skillsTeamwork skills
Making Room
Use the technology you are already teaching
Word one-page written summaries
PPT presentation in groups
Excel spreadsheet analysis to accompany Word reports
Entire workbook integrated into course
Resources to Help You
Soft Skills at Work workbook for students
Web site from Cengagewww.cengage.com/ct/softskills
New! “Pro Skills” incorporated into
New Perspectives Office 2010 First Course lab manual
Contact me!
beverly.amer@nau.edu