Soft skills are the future!

What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor? Teacher? Lawyer? Engineer? Explorer of the arctic tundra? No matter what your answer is (or even if you don’t know) I can guarantee that you’ll need soft skills to get you there.

The idea of soft skills is somewhat new, and the exact definition is a little bit vague. Basically, getting a job isn’t all about qualifications. Yes, it’s often important to have certain degrees to get into certain professions, but there’s more to it than that. A doctor might have to have a medical degree, but that’s not all that makes them good at their job. Teachers generally have to do a Bachelor of Education, but I’m sure we’ve all met a wide range of teachers of… varying quality. Most jobs have some kind of underlying concepts or subject matter that you have to be across in order to be successful, but there’s also a more universal skillset that can aid you in the workforce.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills is a term that applies to a wide range of personal attributes and abilities, but the underlying principle hinges on ‘people skills.’ How well can someone communicate? How well can they empathise with others, or consider things from others’ perspective? How well can they understand people’s words and emotions?

Now, some of you are probably rolling your eyes at this and thinking, ‘yeah, but those aren’t actually “skills” though’. For a long time, and in certain professions in particular, people looked down on these things as being a bit too ‘touchy-feely.’ It’s kind of like how the phrase ‘street-smart, not book-smart’ is seen as a bit of a backhanded compliment. But because there hasn’t been much of a focus on soft skills in the education system, there’s now a dearth of those skills in the job market!

Why do soft skills matter?

So why should you care? Well, it’s simple supply and demand. The supply of high school or university graduates with soft skills is quite low, but the demand is quite high. As such, if you develop your soft skills now, you’ll likely have a much easier time finding and keeping work. Qualifications and experience are still important, but having those things without soft skills is kind of like making a delicious batch of lemonade but not having any cups to serve it in. You need to be able to package that knowledge in the right way so you can present it to people.

Imagine if someone was bragging about how awesome their lemonade was, and when you asked for a taste, they didn’t have any cups. There’s nothing impressive about a batch of lemonade that you have no way of drinking. And there’s nothing impressive to a potential employer about someone who has all the right knowledge but no way of demonstrating it.

Think back to some of the interactions you’ve had with professional adults. What would you say makes someone an effective professional? Obviously, if they’re an accountant, they need to have a grasp on financial concepts. If they’re a photographer, they have to know how a camera works. And if they’re arctic tundra explorers, they have to… be able to explore the arctic tundra, I suppose. But let’s construct a little scenario here…

Why do employers care about soft skills?

Imagine that you’re an employer. There’s a position open in your organisation, and it’s your job to choose a prospective candidate. This could be for an entry-level job, or a very technical role requiring an experienced individual. But let’s say that you’ve got two candidates – both equally qualified and, on paper, both evenly matched.

When reading through the first candidate’s resume, you notice that their sentences are quite unclear and repetitive – the job might not be for anything writing or communication-based, but it still looks bad to read dodgy phrases from someone who’s meant to be aiming to give a good impression. Then, when interviewing this candidate, you notice that they’re not able to answer questions very effectively. They ‘umm’ and ‘ahh’ a lot, they don’t make eye contact, and they aren’t very responsive. The whole time, it feels like you’re talking to a brick wall that occasionally mumbles a half-hearted, mediocre response to your questions.

Then, the second candidate comes in, and they’re confident, self-assured, and interesting to talk to. They nod and smile while you’re speaking (though not too creepily) and they use their body language when it’s their turn to speak. Their answers are clear and concise, they’re not afraid to ask questions to clarify their understanding, and by the end of the interview, you feel like you actually know who this person is.

The choice is obvious, right? But that was just the first impression phase – what do soft skills look like in the workforce?

How can soft skills help you?

Well, now pretend you’re an employee, and your colleagues mentions that they’re going through a bit of a rough patch in their relationship and don’t know what to do. How do you respond? Do you:

a: stay silent and wait for someone else to speak? (…)

b: awkwardly try and change the subject? (“So how bout that weather, huh? Sure is some weather we’ve been having recently!?”)

c: say something wildly inappropriate? (“Yeah, haha, your boyfriend/girlfriend sounds awful, you should go out with me instead hahahahahaha.”)

d: gage their emotional state and let them know you’re there to support them? (“wow, I didn’t know you were feeling that way, has this been going on for a while? Have you spoken to him/her about it? Hey, I appreciate you telling me this; I’m always here if you need to vent or want some advice.”)

e:  just quit that job and take up your true calling as an explorer of the arctic tundra? (“Uh, this conversation is getting a little heavy, I’m going to go take up my true calling as an explorer of the arctic tundra. Bye.”)

No matter what job you do, you will have to navigate certain potentially tricky social situations. It might be an emotionally tense situation, or a case of conflict and crisis management. Maybe there’s a coworker or employer you don’t get along with, or there’s been some kind of disagreement or miscommunication. Inevitably, you’ll run into these problems at some point, so it’s crucial that you know how to extricate yourself and look out for those around you.

How can you improve soft skills?

Developing these soft skills is kind of tricky, since it’s not like you study them alongside maths or history at school. A lot of it comes down to your broader life experiences, like your interactions with peers and teachers at school, of the lessons you learn by engaging in extracurricular activities or a part-time/casual job. Many of these skills are very social, so refining the way you converse and how confidently you can express yourself requires a bit of practice. However, soft skills also encompass more independent things like time management, taking accountability for one’s actions, or being able to assess an unfamiliar situation and come to a logical conclusion. And even if you have no clue what industry you want to end up in, these are all things you can practise right now!

Learn how to recognise effective communication around you. Which of your friends at school seem confident, and which don’t. Which teachers are able to clearly explain things, and which ones can’t. How might your principal at a school assembly try to control the crowd? How can you gage your parents’ mood based on the tone of voice they’re using? A huge chunk of soft skills come down to observation and your ability to read people.

But also think about people’s motivations and behaviours. Why would someone think or feel a certain way? Or, if you know something they don’t, how are they likely to react? This can also help you understand your own emotions and help you to manage difficult situations. Even things like creative thinking, negotiation, and leadership form a part of your set of soft skills.

Right now, it’s natural that you focus more on your school work than where you’ll be in ten years. But the fact that so many industry leaders and professionals have expressed a need for more soft skills means that it’d be smart to develop these yourself. Because if you want to reach your career goals, this kind of skillset is a vital addition to help you stand out from the crowd.

If not, well, there’s always the arctic tundra.