DEVELOPING SOFT SKILLS FOR CAREER SUCCESS

The true importance of communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.

So you want to be the person who gets their dream internship. You look at the day in the life videos posted by girls in Nordstrom blazers taking the train to their summer corporate life, and you wonder, how. Spoiler alert: It’s not about being the smartest person in the room or having a resume that’s longer than a CVS receipt. It all comes down to soft skills – the magical ingredients that can elevate your career from average to extraordinary.

^{So, what are soft skills, and why are they important?}

Soft skills are essentially your main character traits that will enable you to interact effectively with others, mainly employers in this case. These typically include communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Unlike technical skills that many people believe they need to fully master before getting any job, soft skills are universally applicable and highly sought after by employers, but this is typically forgotten. Mastering these skills can, and will make you a more attractive candidate for your dream job or internship, and will make you a better employee when you get there.

^{Communication Skills: The Key to Connection}

Why Does This Soft Skill Matter: Obviously, communication is the foundation of all our human interactions. Whether you are presenting a project to a class or company, collaborating with colleagues, or just living your day to day life, clear and effective communication is crucial in any interaction.

How to Develop This Skill:

1. Practice Active Listening: Pay full attention to whoever is speaking in any room, understand their message, respond, and remember what was said.
2. Be Clear: In a situation where you must communicate about yourself or a topic, avoid long-winded explanations, get to the point! It will ensure your message is easily understood.
3. Work on Public Speaking: Follow social media public speakers, participate in class discussions, or practice situations with friends to build up your confidence.

Using it to Get the Job:

• On Your Resume: Highlight roles that required you to use strong communication, such as leading meetings in clubs or a job that you used communication frequently in, like waiting tables.
• In Your Cover Letter: Provide very specific examples of how your communication skills led to successful outcomes, such as when you used communication in a classroom and you were given an insane opportunity.

^{Teamwork SKills: Having A “Collaborative Advantage”}

Why Does This Skill Matter: Surprise! Teamwork will be essential in almost every workplace in your lifetime. Being able to work well with others, share your ideas, and support those around you, will lead to better outcomes for projects and an overall positive work environment.

How to Develop This Skill:

1. Group Activities: Participate in sports, clubs, and group projects.
2. Volunteer Work: It is crucial to be a part of community service organizations or group volunteer activities to build and show off your teamwork skills. Join a beach cleanup, or start a food drive!
3. Become Described as “Reliable”: Always follow through on your commitments, this is important for your entire life. When you show your team they can count on you, you will be taken seriously and appreciated. This will lead to many positive outcomes for you.

Using it to Get the Job:

• On Your Resume: Always highlight any life experiences that involved teamwork, and put emphasis on this word. Bring up group projects or collaborative events that taught you important teamwork lesson
• In Your Cover Letter: Describe a time when teamwork led to a successful project or solved a challenging problem.

^{Problem-Solving Skills: Navigating Challenges with Ease}

Why Does This Skill Matter: Every job or internship you apply to and get will present challenges that require insightful solutions. Many employers will seek individuals who have strong critical thinking skills and approach problems methodically. Problem-solving skills ultimately show your ability to handle the unexpected and find effective solutions, which happens in every job, and every day!

How to Develop This Skill:

1. Critical Thinking Exercises: This may sound silly, but engaging in puzzles, brainteasers, or games that will require strategic thinking will make sure your brain is sharp. It is also a great point in conversation to bring up that will make you seem extremely hire-worthy. Training the brain is a hobby to have!
2. Learn from Experience: When you do have downtime or are working on a resume, reflect on past challenges and analyze how you overcame them. Whether it be in work, school, or home, what strategies worked? What could you have done differently? Thinking this way will help you to do better in the future.
3. Seek Feedback: Successful people regularly ask for feedback from their peers, mentors, or supervisors, so that they can gain a different perspective on their approach to problem-solving. If you have the time to send a quick email and get your resume looked over, or do a mock interview, DO IT!

Using it to Get the Job:

1. On Your Resume: Make sure you draw emphasis on experiences where you had to identify a problem and find a solution. This could be any type of problem, from resolving a customer complaint at your food service job, to making sure a process in a product internship gets good press.
2. In Your Cover Letter: Write out examples of how your skills in problem-solving led to a successful outcome. This could be reducing costs, saving time, anything to prove the outcome as positive.

Final Thoughts:

Soft skills are literally the backbone of professional success. While yes, technical skills are extremely important, it truly is your ability to communicate, work well in a team, and solve basic problems that will set you apart from other candidates or resumes. It may sound like everyone has these skills, but the truth is, they do not. If you learn how to master these skills and showcase them in your resume and cover letter, you will be on your way to landing your dream internship or job.

Just remember, the key to mastering these soft skills is practice and reflection of yourself. Seek out the opportunities that will help you improve, and demonstrate these skills in your day-to-day life. Whether you’re in a classroom, a summer job, or volunteering, every experience you are there for is a chance to build and refine your soft skills, and they will make you an invaluable part of any company.

So, be the main character in your career journey. Focus on your communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, and watch as you achieve your professional goals.