When it comes to jobs and careers, most people spend their time and money learning hard skills. They concentrate on acquiring technical knowledge and developing professional credentials in hopes of improving their potential to complete work-related tasks. Of course, that strategy for career development is well and good, but it does have some drawbacks.
LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN …
Focusing exclusively on hard skills virtually ensures that you’ll neglect much-in-demand soft skills. And it’s these soft skills that will actually make you a “better worker.” They’re the skills that almost every workplace is looking for right now. So the adventure begins.
It has been said by more than one (many) frustrated employer over time:
“We can teach almost anyone how to make our widgets, but we don’t have time to teach a person how to be a ‘good worker.’ We need people who already know how to be good workers.”
(–Anonymous employer)
THE ULTIMATE TRANSFERABLE SKILLS …
Because soft skills are so easily transferable to other jobs and industries, they represent the most valuable investment most members of the workforce can ever make. Soft skills are the ultimate set of “transferable skills.” Nearly every employer in almost every industry is looking for people with these skills right now. These are the people employers want to put people in their “talent pipeline!” They want to hire people who will become productive members of the workforce from Day One.
Here’s what they ask themselves during a job interview:
“Does this person really have what it takes to be part of our workforce? Will s/he be an asset to our business or will this person just be another liability?”
(–A different anonymous employer)
YOUR HOT TIP …
Are you person considering a career change? Would you like a powerful tip that will really help your career take off and soar to new heights?
Are you a career advisor? Do you wish you knew one secret that would make you truly “remarkable” in your community (the community is buzzing with all the good things you have done recently)?
Here it is. Here’s your HOT TIP …
LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT SOFT SKILLS!
PRACTICE SOF SKILLS EVERYDAY UNTIL YOU’RE NEARLY PERFECT!
LOOKING AHEAD …
We’ll have more to say about Soft Skills in our next article. Stay tuned … and FOLLOW us so you don’t miss any of the important articles on this topic. Click on the “FOLLOW” button to the right of this article.
Facilitating Career Development 