By Lic. Cristina Araujo
Nowadays, as teachers we do not really know what kind of jobs our students will be doing in some future time. Probably, there will be new jobs and we have to be sure that we are preparing them in the best way we can to help them succeed in the workplace.
It is easy to form students in what we call hard skills, in English it means to have a good command of the language; which implies Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing with all the subskills that come together with them.
Nevertheless in the daily routine some other skills are appreciated by employers and they are the Soft Skills. In order to succeed at work, any employee must get along well with all the people with whom s/he interacts, including managers, co-workers, clients, vendors, customers, and anyone else you communicate with while on the job. These are the types of skills all employers value. These skills are also very hard to teach, so employers want to know that job candidates already have the soft skills to be successful.
Developing these skills and emphasizing them in job applications, resumes, cover letters, and interviews is essential to show the interviewer that you have the skills the company is seeking will help you get hired.
Some of these skills are in the areas of communication and you will need aptitudes for:
- Listening,
- Negotiation,
- Persuasion and Writing skills such as writing reports and proposals
If this short paper called your attention, wait for the next issue which will deal with another aspect of the Soft Skills: Critical Thinking
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