UNIT – 1 – Introduction and Basics of Soft Skills

Course – MCASubject – English Communications and Life Skills

Unit - 1

Meaning – Soft Skills Soft skills is an essential dimension

and a corner stone of an ideal person. It can be explained as a personality trait which is extremely crucial for succeeding in our career and to live a better life. Soft skills usually include communication skills, communication language, ability to express our ideas and related areas. These aspects are very important if one wants to succeed in life and live a proper life. Soft skills usually are dependent on the inner self of the person and not the physical body of a person. They usually test the endurance and mental strength more than the physical strength.

Hence, the soft skills like communication skills need to be improved by every person in order to excel in social life as Soft skills are basically social skills. Sometimes, it is also known as People Skills or Interpersonal Skills. Today soft skills are more essential than the technical abilities of a person and hence these have a prominent place in deciding the fate of a person in this modern world.

Meaning – Hard Skills

Hard Skills are basically technical skills. Hard skills are quantifiable capabilities required for specific occupations. They are opposite of Soft Skills. Careers require practitioners to have certain practical and personal abilities. Hard skills are the practical abilities learned through education and training. For example, the hard skills that an accountant would need include arithmetic, familiarity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), etc.

Hard Skills mean Technical Skills and Conceptual Skills. (Definition:) By the term Conceptual Skills we mean the ability to think creatively, analyze and understand complicated and abstract ideas. An individual seeking work typically lists his or her hard skills as part of a resume. In order to be irreplaceable one must possess unique and impressive Hard Skills.

Definition: Soft Skills & Hard Skills

§ Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career prospects.

§ Hard Skills are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity.

§ It's often said that hard skills will get you an interview but you need soft skills to get (and keep) the job.

Distinguish between Soft Skills and Hard Skills

Soft Skills Hard Skills1) Definition:Soft skills are personalattributes that enhancean individual'sinteractions,job performance andcareer prospects.

Definition:Hard Skills are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity.

2) Example:Personal Qualities, Interpersonal Skills, etc.

Example:Job Skills like typing, reading, writing, etc.

Soft Skills Hard Skills3) Importance: Soft skills will land the job because employers want someone who won't just perform their job function, but will be a good personality fit for the company and make a good impression on clients/customers.

Importance:Hard Skills are essential to getting the interview.

4) Measurement:Soft Skills are hard to quantify/measure.

Measurement:Hard Skills are teachable abilities which can be measures.

5) Attributes:Keep calm under pressure; responsibility and common sense; leadership; teamwork; communication; negotiation; good manners and etiquettes, etc.

Attributes:Accounting and finance; proficiency with software applications; operating machinery; speaking foreign language, etc.

Soft Skills Hard Skills6) Requirement:To be good at Soft Skills Emotional Intelligence or EQ also known as your right brain- the emotional center is required.

Requirement:To be good at Hard Skills Intelligence Quotient or IQ also known as your left brain-the logical center is required.

7) Rules:The rules change in soft skills like Communication Skills, Self Management Skills, etc. from time to time depending on the company culture and people you work with.

Rules:The rules remain the same in hard skills, like for example programming is a hard skill and technical skills remain the same.

8) Learning:Most soft skills are not learnt well in school, they are generally learnt by trial and error and books and guides.

Learning:Hard Skills can be learnt in school and from books. We can also learn on how we can master Hard Skills.

Soft Skills vs. Hard Skills, which is more important?

This depends highly on the career you choose. Careers can be put into three kinds of categories:

1) Careers that need hard skills and little soft skills: (example: Physicists); This is where you see brilliant people who cannot deal well with people. They can still be very successful in their career – look at Albert Einstein.

2) Careers that need both hard and soft skills – many careers are in this category (example: Accountants, Lawyers – they need to know the rules of accounting or law well but they also depend on selling to clients to build a successful career. Dealing well with clients require excellent soft skills like communication skills, relationship skills etc.)

3) Careers that need mostly soft skills and little hard skills (example: sales. A car salesman doesn’t really need to know that much about cars, just a little more than the consumer. His job is more dependent on his ability to read his customers, communicate his sales pitch, persuasion skills, and skills to close to deal. These are all soft skills Soft skills are more important in most business careers than hard skills. We all know or have worked for senior people who in some cases have limited hard skills. The fact remains that they are in senior positions because they have exceptional soft skills .

Discuss interdependence between Soft Skills and Hard Skills

In today’s era of cut throat competition, one cannot deny the importance of skills, soft as well as hard. To get an edge over competitors individuals are left with no choice but to add values to their hard skills with soft skills to exhibit their true potential.Some of the literature suggests that hard skills contribute to only 15 to 20 percent of one’s success while remaining 80 to 85 percent is made by the soft skills. Most employers these days want to hire, retain and promote persons who are dependable, resourceful, ethical, self-directed, having effective communication, willing to work, and learn and having positive attitude.

Technical and job-related skills are a must, but they are not sufficient when it comes to progressing up the ladder. With the traditional paternalistic style of leadership becoming passé, professional managers expect their teams to be proactive and communicate openly.

§ Soft skills are very important in business. It is essential to be technically sound, but one should also have the ability to convey the idea to the masses in the simplest possible manner.

§ A typical business degree program or executive training program will focus on what are considered hard skills. Examples might include strategic business planning, financial analysis, budgeting or product development. An increasing number of companies are also interested in the so called soft skills. These soft skills are best defined as how a manager interacts with people.

§ The bottom line is that when it comes to being a good manager or leader, you must master the hard skills of your specific job as well as the soft skills of interpersonal relations. Interpersonal skills must be a focus of your leadership development. Some people are naturally better at personal interactions, but anyone can learn to do

better. The key is to recognize the importance of interpersonal relations, honestly evaluate your skill level, and consciously improve those behaviors those are the requirement of global and competitive world.

Importance of Soft Skills in an Industry

§ Technical abilities may be important to get good assignments in the initial years of one’s career, but when it comes to growing in an organization it is one’s personality that counts, especially on a large platform where people with similar technical expertise, proficiency and competitiveness are vying (competing) for promotions.

§ In a country like India, ‘soft skills’ training becomes even more important since the education system does not include personality development anywhere in its stream of academic curriculam. Corporate houses are forced to invest more and more on soft skills training in order to groom their employees to present themselves in a better manner and improve their performance.

§ Nowadays companies recruit employees not merely considering their technical expertise but also after seeing how proficient they are in portraying their soft skills. A high premium is placed on individuals having both technical abilities as well as the requisite soft skills in the present, rapidly growing and competitive corporate world, especially in the IT and ITES sector.

§ Today’s software engineer in India is no longer restricted to his own area of work, but has to interact with various kinds of clients, locally as well as globally. More and more employees are going abroad on projects and assignments. Tele-conferencing and video conferencing has become the most common mode of communication. WebEx is the most convenient way to communicate across places even within the country.

Importance of Soft Skills in an Interview

Soft skills in a job interview are those characteristics that you use to make decisions and interact with others while on the job. When an employer asks questions designed to determine soft skills competencies during the interview process, she is trying to determine your workplace personality and how you will react in various situations. The more prepared you are to answer soft skills questions, the better equipped you will be to enhance your professional image.

Importance of Soft Skills in a workplace

Work ethics, teamwork, communication skills, decision making and problem solving are important soft skills attributes for a workplace. Companies value soft skills because they are often linked to job performance and career success. Soft skills may mean the difference between who can do the job and who actually gets the job.

The workplace needs to function ethically and be legally responsible. Employees need to be honest and trustworthy. Take your work seriously, be ethical in all your dealings, and follow the rules. Employers want self-disciplined people who follow company policies. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary or legal action. Always act professionally and with maturity while at work.

Importance of Soft Skills for Students

§ Soft skills will enable students with a strong conceptual and practical framework to build, develop and manage teams. They play an important role in the development of the students’ overall personality, thereby enhancing their career prospects.

§ Training in soft skills provides strong practical orientation to the students and help them in building and improving their skills in communication, the effective use of English, business correspondence, presentations, team-building, leadership, time management, group discussions, interviews and interpersonal skills. It also helps students in career visioning and planning, effective resume writing and dealing with placement consultants and head hunters.

Soft Skills training has become a must for the students who want to go forjob or higher studies. Soft skill is not a visible skill like the domain subjectcontent in a student but it helps in improving the personality of the person.It gives finishing touch to the personality. It includes communication skills,Interpersonal skills, group dynamics, teamwork, body language, etiquettes,selling skills, presentation skills, confidence building etc.Soft skills along with grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary exercises willboost the confidence of students. For students, the blend of both soft andhard skills is essential for personal, professional and social success.

Merits of Soft Skills

MERITS1) Soft Skills help you grow in

career.2) It gives you an eye to identify

and create opportunities.3) It helps develop relationships

with clients and colleagues.4) It helps develop good

communication and leadership qualities in you.

5) It helps executives and professionals create an impact and brand value.

6) It helps get recognition.7) It helps get promotions and

advanced opportunities.8) It increases ability to

perform the job.9) It encourages incentives,

rewards and challenges for the employees.

10) It helps have a positive work environment.

11) Soft Skills help us adapt and fit in a social structure.

12) Soft Skills improve our work efficiency and performance.

13) Soft Skills offer personal growth.

14) Soft Skills increase our value in the market.

15) Soft Skills help bring clarity in communication.

16) Soft skills help contribute strongly to the organization’s vision and strategy.

SIGNIFICANT SOFT SKILLSSoft Skills is a vital part ofthe success of anorganization/individual.Major Soft Skills are asfollows:

a) Communication Skillsb) Decision Making and

Problem Solvingc) Leadership Skillsd) Teamwork & Self

Confidencee) Ethics, morals and

professionalism

Major Soft Skills1) Communication Skills : The communicative skills involve

effective communication in both the national language and English language in different contexts and with different people. The communication skill an important component that lacks in the present human capital. The ability to communicate through the spoken and written word is a necessity in nearly every industry and in every workplace. Communication skills can be learned and improved with the right training.

2) Decision Making and Problem Solving : Being able to make quick decisions, think on their feet, and solve simple problems are important employee traits. Even simple problems can grind an office to a halt if no one displays these simple skills. At least one employee needs to have the ability to take charge of a situation and guide the others through if they have difficulty. The employees who display these decision making skills are often excellent candidates for promotion to management level. When taking a decision it is important to look for solutions than wasting time over a problem.

3) Leadership Skills :Corporate leaders need to know their business, know their customers, and have the ability to execute a strategy successfully. And leaders need to be especially agile to stay current with their business as the pace of change has accelerated so dramatically. Great leadership as a soft skill also requires not only understanding customers’ current needs, but accurately predicting future needs as well. This knowledge of business and customers becomes relevant only when leaders also have the ability to execute a strategy that drives growth. Therefore, strong leadership is one of the important Soft Skills an individual must possess.

4) Teamwork and Self Confidence :The ability to work well within a team is another important soft skill. Some employees may naturally feel comfortable working within a group, while others may have problems and prefer to work alone. It is necessary to spot these personality types ahead of time for proper group formation. Every team should have a diverse set of personalities that mesh together as a cohesive whole. Team building exercises can be very beneficial in helping employees develop this skill.To achieve even the smallest of goals, and to get through life's daily duties and responsibilities, you have to have self-confidence.

5) Ethics, Morals and Professionalism :Employees typically either display a strong work ethic and the drive to complete tasks, or they don't. While a work ethic is largely an innate skill, it can be learned with proper training and motivation. Some employees may be able to develop a stronger work ethic with incentive based pay or monetary rewards such as bonuses if they reach a certain goal.

Other essential Soft Skills

1) Multi-tasking2) Entrepreneurship skills3) Self Management Skills4) Observation5) Positive Outlook6) Introspection7) Assertiveness8) Delegation

Ways to develop Soft Skills1) Actively Listen –

Active listening involves focusing on the moment, participating in the conversation, waiting your turn to speak, and asking for clarification when necessary.Active listening helps us focus on the problem and think for a solution. It helps us analyze and understand things and situation better in a workplace.

2) Communicate with Illustrations –

Choosing common terms or illustrations to demonstrate your point will help facilitate communication.Communicating with the help of Jargons with a nontechnical person confuses him. Explaining with the help of analogies or comparisons leads to clear understanding and concept.

3) Take the lead (when required) –

The ability to lead others, even if only on small initiatives, is a key strength.Chances are you’ll be guiding others—whether newcomers within the department or junior members of your team—at some point in your career.Take the time to observe some of the successful leaders within your company and note their actions and management style.

4) Nurture your inner writer – Being able to write well is an asset quality. It helps a lot in written communication and formal communication.If you observe people at high designation possess good writing skills. Hence, we need to develop our writing skills and the only solution to develop this skill is practice.

5) Develop communication skills –

Your goal should be to communicate clearly through written, oral, and nonverbal communication. Start simply by being aware of how others feel when they are around you or are talking with you.It is equally important that you make eye contact, practice speaking and monitor your body language. Communication is a vital attribute in the corporate world but not everyone is capable of appropriate conduct in a professional setting.

6) Step out of the box physically and mentally –

It’s easy to spend an entire day in your cubicle or office, but it’s not the best career move. Involve yourself into committees and know what your employer expects from you and how your efforts add to the company’s overall goals.Read business magazines and articles online, stay up to date with current trends and industries.

7) Develop Interpersonal Skills –A person in the managerial level is expected to have good inter personal skills. Being the leader of the team, it is his prerogative to handle inter personal conflicts, personality clashes and other issues related to the team. He should be able analyze the differences in his team and take impartial decisions. A healthy formal interaction among the employees in the organization encourages increased productivity. In this age of globalization, it is necessary to have interpersonal skills to work with people from different nations and cultures.

8) Develop and enhance Presentation Skills –

People who are working for corporate, more or less need to be good presenters. Every area of corporate life requires presentation. It can be presenting before existing or prospective customers, suppliers, media or people within the organization. Presentation in both forms; oral as well as written form, is important for managers and professionals.

9) Be attentive –Pay attention to colleagues. Observe your surroundings. Express concern and sympathy towards difficult situations.10) Be Positive –Positive Attitude draws people towards you. Be friendly and upbeat. Be appreciative about your colleagues and their work.11) Take initiative – Demonstrate responsibility and enthusiasm for your job by striving to go the extra mile. This starts by finishing work without constant reminders from your supervisor.

12) Learn to listen –Practice listening and not arguing. Understand the other person’s point of view. Co-workers will appreciate the fact that you took time to listen. Listening requires focus and self discipline. Do not interrupt other people. Respect them by listening attentively to what they are saying. Pay attention and observe while listening other person’s body language.

Conclusion:Soft skills revolve around personal relationships, character, and attitude. By developing these skills, you can increase your work performance, build stronger relationships, and work toward earning a promotion. Soft Skills help advance your career and personal growth.

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References and Bibliography

1. http://www.indiastudychannel.com/forum/89118-What-meaning-soft-skills.aspx

2. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/soft-skills-competencies-during-interview-process-11412.html

3. www.riseabove.in4. www.gopixpic.com5. www.quotehd.com