When I just started sales consulting. I got an important client. At that time I was still testing different ideas. Although I had good theoretical and practical knowledge, sometimes I performed poorly in professional meetings and momentary decisions were always my weakness. (Objection number 1)
In my job, there are many experts, so usually, the basis of selection is something more than technical knowledge. A criterion that I realized the importance of after a lot of trial and error and losing countless opportunities.
Back to the story.
I had a method in sales that I had used several times in various situations, and I also presented it to the vice president of the company’s service center.
It was exactly three years ago that the boss came to my room and asked: Can you intervene in this way in a way that is suitable for 50 people?
Without delay, I stared into his eyes and said, “Of course!” But I never told him that I had never used it for more than ten people. Although I was full of doubts, I accepted this responsibility. (Objection number 2)
My method was to collect customer comments and then hand them verbatim to the review team and sit at my desk staring at the mailbox until the results were sent to me. If I want to be honest with you, I usually felt like I was in the wrong place during this several-hour wait. (Let’s not skip! This was my biggest problem.)
The results came. I valued my results and assessments more than the recommendations and status summaries provided by an advertising company. But would this work for over 50 people? I did not know!
I threw away the analysis and used auxiliary power. They again separated the important comments and stuck them on the wall in a way that was both meaningful and showed the number of repetitions. I used colored paper for different things. I was almost at the end of the work when I saw that a group took all the colors and built a tall tower. Everywhere was full of paper.
The boss knocked on the door and entered, stood next to me and walked back and forth on tiptoes, and asked: “You have never done something like this before, have you?” I said “natch”.
He shook his head and said: “I knew” then he smiled and gave me a bottle of water and said: “Maybe you are thirsty” and left. He was a kind person.
This story may happen to us many times in the professional business environment when we have the technical, mental, and also the experience necessary to advance a project, but due to the lack of strengthening soft skills such as; Mental shortcuts, creative attitude, time management, how to proceed with meetings, saying no in a professional manner, communication with the employer, etc. Sometimes we cannot manage a project optimally and use our knowledge and expertise from our career activities and the path we have chosen. Let’s have more fun. This is the good part of the story. The situation collapses when we have come in the wrong direction or have left the brick crooked from the beginning!
In this regard, as a specialist (at whatever level we are), we must develop a series of skills before each professional move. Skills that are called soft skills.
Soft skills are one of the most important topics that you should consider in your learning and development journey.
Although many people think that soft skills should be considered as a supplement in the business environment, the importance of these items is in no way less than your technical knowledge in the learning process and dramatically guarantees your success, especially in teamwork.
If you are an entrepreneur, manage a collection, are an expert, or even do your project independently and freelance, reading this article is strongly recommended.
In this article, I will practically pave the way for you to reach your maximum work potential by introducing soft skills and their types, the difference between hard skills, measuring soft skills, and ways to strengthen these skills.
But before starting the discussion, I would like to draw your attention to some interesting reports:
In a study conducted in 2016 by Wonderlic, 93% of employers stated that soft skills are a major priority in their decision to cooperate.
In this regard, some employers reported that technical-collaborative specialties need to strengthen soft skills more than other jobs.
In another survey conducted by the US National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2015, employers ranked leadership skills and the ability to work in a team as the most desirable attributes of graduates, ahead of analytical, problem-solving, and technical skills.
Table of Contents
What is a soft skill?
Soft skills are a set of non-technical skills that have a direct impact on how you interact with others and your abilities such as; will strengthen your problem-solving, business communication, leadership, time management, etc., and will also help your personal growth and development in the professional environment.
In recent years, unlike what we saw in the past, many outstanding specialists are working in various fields, and what is lacking in the labor market today is the presence of people who, in addition to technical knowledge, have strengthened soft skills in their professional personalities.
For example, one of the most common problems that we all have faced in our career path is a lack of self-confidence in business negotiations, false self-confidence to accept responsibility, lack of adaptability to a new environment, circumstances, and people, wrong time management, decisions It is an incorrect moment and… Which is not a small problem. In the long run, it will be a problem for us and the people who are interacting with us. But the good news is that all these skills can be learned and improved and will help us in many areas even outside the work environment.
In simple words, soft skills are a set of skills that have a high correlation with our interpersonal and human skills and significantly guarantee career advancement and improve the level of our professional relationships with others.
When should soft skills be considered?
Some think that soft skills are valid only when you have to be in contact with many people due to your profession, or that these skills are only effective at managerial levels and…!
But the bottom line is that you should start learning these skills immediately after learning a new skill, or specifically before entering the job market, according to your level (manager, consultant, teacher, employee, freelancer, etc.).
before employment; Basic resume writing, correct letter writing, effective communication with human resources managers, how to participate in interviews, attending the company, etc. are among the soft skills that you must learn before starting work.
After employment; Learning communication skills, participating in meetings, generating ideas, strengthening problem-solving skills, project management, correct timing, etc. are among the soft skills that you should strengthen in yourself day by day while working, and in the end Gaining work experience that leads to your career advancement, turn management skills that have a very wide scope into a personality trait.
What is the difference between soft skills and hard skills?
Hard skills are your main expertise, the work that you introduce yourself to others.
Considering that in today’s society, due to people’s access to the Internet and the holding of various courses, various specializations from technical fields (oily hands) to educational fields (inky hands) are widely taught, the competitive advantage of people are more focused on It is soft skills. (As the research results of your service were presented at the beginning of the article.)
People who have strengthened their soft skills are more successful in their careers because they know how to use their technical skills in the best way and complete a negotiation, project, etc. with the highest efficiency in the shortest possible time.
The reason for the importance of soft skills
When you’re listing your skills on your resume and preparing yourself technically for a great interview, keep in mind that employers and HR managers are looking for more than just your technical knowledge.
But why are these soft skills so important?
Hard skills without soft skills? Never!
It cannot be denied that in most jobs, technical skills alone are not enough. For example, as a first-class and literate university professor, if you cannot communicate well with your students, you will not be able to fulfill your mission, which is to educate outstanding students. This simple matter is true in all jobs that require you to interact with people (however briefly).
So the first reason for the importance of learning soft skills is to complete and improve hard skills.
Soft skill; a competitive advantage
As mentioned earlier, learning a skill and technical knowledge is not as difficult as 10 years ago! Free and simple access to educational and study resources has made every talented person with a little effort reach the necessary expertise to accept a project or be employed as an experienced workforce.
Apart from all the benefits it has for society, this issue has made the workspace more competitive and has caused managers to consider soft skills, especially problem-solving, adaptability, and communication skills as one of the basic criteria for cooperation.
Soft skills, a basic requirement in teamwork
Usually, in the work environment, skills such as interaction with colleagues, generating ideas, communicating with other teams, communicating with employers, etc. are an inevitable part of our career path. Therefore, weakness in any of these skills can completely overshadow us and our expertise.
Soft skills, future skills
According to research conducted by Deloitte Access Economics in 2019, more than two-thirds of Australian jobs will be managed solely based on soft skills by 2030. This issue has been investigated following the advancement of artificial intelligence and the economics of automation for governments, and it is not far when the only key difference between humans and these powerful algorithms is based on soft skills and communication power.
The most important characteristic of soft skills is that they are not limited to a specific job. They are general characteristics that all people in a group should learn, regardless of job position, age, the field of activity, etc.
The most important soft skills
- Communication skills (before and after starting professional activity)
- Teamwork
- Problem-Solving
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Decision making
- Stress and conflict management
- adaptation
- leadership
- Creativity and ideation
- Criticism of
- Familiarity with ethical codes
Soft skills assessment questions (complete guide)
Let’s say you want to hire a new accountant, you have two candidates with a degree in marketing, both of whom have three years of practical work experience in a reputable company and are fully versed in CRM. Which one do you choose? Measuring soft skills will help you make that distinction.
Tip 1: I advise you to put soft skills at the top of your selection priorities before evaluating people’s qualifications and resumes.
Tip 2: Before the interview and hiring process, determine which skills (according to the job position) are more important to you, and based on that, ask your applicant diverse and targeted questions.
The first criterion: adaptability
- What do you think are the most important challenges you face when starting a new job and what is your solution for them?
- What would you do if your income stream stopped overnight?
- Let’s say that the project that you have been working on for 6 months is on the wrong track. What are you doing?
Second criterion: teamwork
- Forced to work with a person who is morally, personally, and… It is completely different from you, what are you doing?
- What would you do if your team rejected a significant portion of your creative ideas?
The third criterion: is communication and interactions
- What do you do if colleagues do not pay attention to you and your opinions during meetings?
- How do you calm down a nervous client or colleague?
The fourth criterion: decision making
- If you made an unwise decision at work, how would you handle the situation, the opinions of others, and the situation?
- What do you think is the best way to make decisions when working on a group project?
The fifth criterion: is management and leadership
- Have you ever fired someone?
- Why did you have to do this? How did you discuss this issue with him and higher levels? How did you control the situation?
- How do you manage and motivate your team members during challenging projects?
Sixth criterion: time management
- If you are assigned several different tasks, how can you organize your time to do the best quality work?
- Describe an experience you had when you fell behind schedule. How was this issue handled? What lesson did you learn from this postponement?
Tip 1: As you noticed that many of these questions are asked in the present tense and not in the past tense, try to keep the interviewer in the present tense with your questions and measure their answers at this time and among your questions from Ask about past experiences. This question and answer will clarify many things for you.
Tip 2: Consider 1 to 5 points for your questions and give 1-3-5 points to each box related to each question according to the answers given. (2 and 4 points will put you in a decision trap. )
Note 3: Be sure to write the candidate’s answer in brief before each question.
Tip 4: Ask all applicants the same questions and keep the order of the questions.
Assessment of soft skills
Through these questions, you can identify many hidden angles even in hard skills.
For example, a candidate may claim in his answers that he is an accurate and organized person. Now, if he cannot write a simple office text without mistakes and with legible handwriting, this is a red light for you.
Consider everything to form an objective opinion about candidates’ soft skills and abilities. From how to email, send a resume, initial interaction to the time of attending the interview, and…
These items are among the criteria you should use to measure and evaluate people in addition to your questions.
How to strengthen soft skills?
Developing soft skills is a time-consuming and sometimes difficult process because many of these things are derived from our lifestyle, attitude, and habits, and on the other hand, it is sometimes difficult to identify weaknesses. But learning and strengthening this skill, like other skills, can be institutionalized by knowing the methods, focusing on the path, and repeating it regularly.
The best ways to develop soft skills are:
Creating a learning mindset
Soft skills have a high correlation with emotional intelligence and logical intelligence, and you can strengthen this mentality in your subconscious when you shift your atmosphere toward learning.
By atmosphere, I mean all your inputs. From what you read to what you listen to and the people you associate with.
Reading specialized books on strengthening soft skills that will be introduced to you in a separate article, listening to personal development podcasts and constantly adapting to these principles will significantly increase your soft skills after a while.
Get feedback
It doesn’t matter if you are a manager and you communicate with your regular employees every day or you are an expert salesperson who has hundreds of people refer to you every day, you should get feedback from others while changing your thinking and practical process. This is the only way to help you know if you are on the right track or not!
Continuous practice
Soft skills are habits and unless you make these skills a habit, not only in the work environment but also in everyday life, you cannot use them well in sensitive situations. Practice and practice again! The only way to institutionalize soft skills in you is through continuous repetition of what you have learned. So don’t neglect it in any way.