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10 Soft Skills That Can Boost Your Career

Posted on the 12 July 2019 by Homework Minutes @homeworkminute
Imagine yourself stuck amidst the cacophonous traffic at snail’s pace, continually striving to reach office on time and escape the sharp daggers of your boss. No matter how hard do we try, we fail to escape the hustle and bustle of the traffic and remain stuck. Similarly, our serene workplace, makes us feel caged in the atrocities of constantly diverging situations, mixed crowd, un-ending expectations, adamant deadlines, and a conscientious head, always at the verge of demanding reports of each step undertaken by us. In such pathos, we seek for a rescuer; soft skills play an allied role that can boost our career. In that case, what are skills?Soft skills are the social and interpersonal skills that help in coping with our immediate surroundings. They play a crucial role in making or breaking our career. Soft skills are acquired skills such as time management, emotional intelligence, communication, leadership, etc., which grow with practice, perseverance, and patience.According to a study conducted by an assessment firm called Wonderlic, 93 % of employers said that ‘Soft skills are either an essential or vital decisive factor in hiring.’ Hence, it becomes an important skill to be nurtured and nourished within us, to undergo tremendous career hiking. Thus, we are now conscious of the fact that soft skills can boost our career. To inherit these interpersonal skills, we first need to learn about these soft skills. To make this task more comfortable for you, here are ‘Ten soft skills that can boost your career.
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Verbal and written communication

CommunicationWhy is it needed?Communication is an essential soft skill for the selection and survival of the employee in the resilient conditions at the workplace. The CEO of LinkedIn, Weiner once said in an interview with CNBC, “Interpersonal skills are where we see the most significant imbalance. Communication is the number one skill gap.” Disrupted and ambiguous communication leads to sour relations between the co-workers and with their heads. Hence, the interviewees seek for a person with excellent communication skills to ensure resolved situations.How can it be developed?Good communication skill can be developed by:
  • Discussing each topic vividly.
  • Avoiding the usage of outrageous and rude context.
  • Keenly listening to the other person, analyzing his intent, and responding.

Problem-solving

problem solving Why is it needed?Problem-solving is a soft skill which ensures that each hitch is resolved, leaving room for a sober environment. It involves identifying a problem, strategizing for the solution, and deriving its resolution. Problem-solving is an opportunity to take these hitches as opportunities to be embraced and learned from. It corroborates the structure of the organization, thus preventing it from being racked.How can it be developed?Problem-solving is not an innate soft skill, but one developed under challenging situations. It can be inherited by:
  • Learning soft skills, such as persuasion, patience, and team spirit.
  • Taking problems as opportunities to explore and invade through.
  • Understanding the root cause of the problem and solving it from hip to haunch.

Emotional intelligence

Why is it needed?Emotional intelligence is a learned and improved soft skill which determines how a person perceives the situations and reactor responds to it. It is measured with the help of a standardized quantity called emotional quotient. It follows the process of:emotional intelligenceAn emotionally intelligent person is considered a critical thinker, excellent communicator, and a perseverant task completer. Thus, it is often said, ‘I.Q. gets you hired but E.Q. gets you promoted.’ High E.Q. ensures that one respond to situations instead of reacting to them. Such people become impeccable leaders.How can it be developed?  Emotional intelligence is a soft skill which can be inherited with experiences by:
  • Recognizing, controlling, and expressing our emotions wisely.
  • Perceiving and assessing others emotions too.
P.S. Writer Daniel Goleman has been making a case for emotional intelligence for over 20 years that proved, ‘emotional intelligence accounts for 90% of what makes people move up the success ladder.

Critical thinking

Critical thinkingWhy is it needed?Critical thinking is another important soft skill that can boost your career. By developing this soft skill, one can elevate other soft skills too, such as emotional intelligence, understand the logic behind each idea, detect mistakes, and solve the problems systematically. It also leads to the evolution of ideas and their consistent implementation in our lives.How can it be developed?Critical thinking can quickly be developed by:
  • Improvising our thoughts and actions.
  • Thinking about everything with a logical and rational mind.
  • Becoming assertive to situations instead of being aggressive.

Teamwork

team work supportWhat is it needed?A team is a heterogeneous group formed by the compilation of alike and diverse people who works towards the accomplishment of a goal. Teamwork plays the part of a crucial soft skill which can either perform miracles or get completely out of sorts. As the authors of Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report, “90 % of companies are redesigning their organizations to be more dynamic, team-centric, and connected,” which acutely proves the prerequisite of this skill before getting admitted to any organization.How can it be developed?
  • ‘Teamwork begins by building trust.’ – Patrick.
  • Teamwork obliges to give each other’s back.
  • A good team demands empathy and understanding for each other.

Decision-making

decision makingWhy is it needed?  Decision- making ability is another important soft skill, for every employer wants his employee to be a quick and imperative decision maker. Time constraint demands rapid decisions to prevent opportunities from getting in vain. A critical thinker is often considered as an efficient decision-maker too, as he understands the delicacy of taking on-spot decision wisely. Everyone trusts such a person and seeks advice from him.How can it be developed?
  • Decision-making demands a lot of self-management, discipline, and concentration.
  • It can be developed by becoming self-independent and taking decisions on our own.

Listening

listeningWhy is it needed?A good listener understands the fact that ‘listening is learning.’ An active listener proves to be a good teammate as he curiously listens to the other person, analyzes what he says, and then responds by giving his view in exchange. In the process of listening to your teammates, you can land up deriving new ideas, and exchanging crucial information.

How can it be developed?

Listening is a vital soft skill which can be developed by:
  • Appreciating other persons’ thoughts.
  • Responding to other people by smiling, agreeing, and complementing their Ideas.

Adaptability

Why is it needed?Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest or most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” Being adaptive to situations is another crucial soft skill needed to boost your career. Being adaptive means being a ‘perpetual optimist’ and ‘exhibiting extra-ordinary resilience’ Adaptability is an essential soft skill that comes with a lot of positive attributes such as: embracing challenges by breaking boundaries, realizing that change is inevitable and staying positive. Keep experimenting with the derivation of discoveries.How can it be developed?Adaptability can be imbibed by:
  • Handling work stress and crises bravely.
  • Dealing with unpredictable work situations.
  • Solving problems creatively and flexibly.

Leadership and Management

managementWhy is it needed?“Leadership is not domination, but the art of persuading people to work towards a common goal.”
― Daniel GolemanThis soft skill is another medium that can boost your career by leading an organization and bring-in marvelous changes. Management and leadership are the two most important integral parts of an institution, for the whole system depends on it. An employer seeks a person who is spontaneous with the management of multiple tasks and leading the team towards the fulfillment of desired goals. An ideal leader poses as an inspiration for the other members to learn from and rely on.

How can it be developed?

Leadership and management go hand-in-hand; thus, the attainment of both the attributes is essential. They can be developed by:Understanding the complexity of the structure and setting out for resolutions.
  • Undertaking responsibilities.
  • Resolving conflicts within the organization.
  • Caring about the deadlines and pacing accordingly.
  • Inspiring others with your heroic attributes.

Creativity

CreativityWhy is it needed?Last but not the least; creativity is a soft skill that helps you in transcending amidst the rest. A creative thinker is undertaken as a knight in shining armour, as he comes up with exclusive inventions for the common-place hitches and tasks.

How can it be developed?

Creativity comes with a lot of contemplation, realizing self-worth, and straying away from the clichés of the world around you.Having stated the ten soft skills that can boost your career, the hopes are quite high that now you must have got liberated from the cacophonous traffic around you. The monstrous voices that ransacked your confidence and made you doubt your career prospects haunted you with the thoughts of toppled professional life, and forced you into a dark room of bleak opportunities. Adopting these ten soft skills can undoubtedly boost your career and help you in reaching the zenith of success. For assignment help on ‘Soft skills and your career’ and other relatable topics, take help from the 100 % original content with zero plagiarism and grammatical error from Homework minutes.

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