5/30/2014 Soft skills - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Soft skills
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Soft skills is a term often associated with a person's "EQ" (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of
personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that
characterize relationships with other people.[1] Soft skills complement hard skills which are the occupational
requirements of a job and many other activities. They are related to feelings, emotions, insights and (some would
say) an 'inner knowing': i.e. they provide an important complement to 'hard skills' and IQ.

Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career
prospects. Unlike hard skills, which are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or
activity, soft skills relate to a person's ability to interact effectively with coworkers and customers and are
broadly applicable both in and outside the workplace.

A person's soft skill EQ is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of an organization.
Particularly those organizations dealing with customers face-to-face are generally more successful, if they train
their staff to use these skills. Screening or training for personal habits or traits such as dependability and
conscientiousness can yield significant return on investment for an organization.[2] For this reason, soft skills are
increasingly sought out by employers in addition to standard qualifications.

It has been suggested that in a number of professions, soft skills may be more important over the long term than
occupational skills. The legal profession is one example where the ability to deal with people effectively and
politely, more than their mere occupational skills, can determine the professional success of a lawyer.[3]

Soft Skills are behavioral competencies. Also known as Interpersonal Skills, or people skills, they include
proficiencies such as communication skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, personal effectiveness, creative
problem solving, strategic thinking, team building, influencing skills and selling skills, to name a few. These skills
are based on performance, productivity, and how well the job is done. All of these previously mentioned skills
can be acquired through numerous ways, mainly with bettering communication and development of leadership
qualities. Working on body language, eye contact, and being at ease in relationships of any kind will improve the
soft skills.

See also
Basic interpersonal communicative skills
Critical thinking
DISCO - European Dictionary of Skills and Competences
Emotional literacy
Empathy
Life skills
Life skills-based education
People skills
Social intelligence
Social skills
Theory of multiple intelligences

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References
^ Career Opportunities News, 2002
^ See George Paajanen, EI Reports, Technology Based Solutions/Personnel Decisions, Inc.([1]
(http://www.asktbs.com/ei/EI_ReportNewsletter.pdf)), 1992.
^ See Giuseppe Giusti, Soft Skills for Lawyers, Chelsea Publishing ([2] (http://www.chelseapublishing.com)),
2008.
^ soft skills in skills diary (http://www.skillsdiary.com/soft-skills.html)

External links
Symmonds, A. etc. 2009. "Smart English through Success Secrets"[ISBN 978-81-909849-6-6] & other
'Smart English Series'
The People Skills Revolution: A Step-by-Step Approach to Developing Sophisticated People Skills,
Pamela Milne, Global Professional Publishing ISBN 978-1-906403-72-0
Definition of Term (http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/soft-skills)
List of 28 Soft Skills (https://bemycareercoach.com/soft-skills/list-soft-skills.html)
Career Opportunities News, Career Opportunities News, 2002

Paajanen, George (1992), Employment Inventory Reports

(http://www.asktbs.com/ei/EI_ReportNewsletter.pdf), Technology Based Solutions/Personnel Decisions,
Inc.

Giusti, Giuseppe (2008), Soft Skills for Lawyers, Chelsea Publishing ([3]
(http://www.chelseapublishing.com)), ISBN 978-0-9558926-0-8
U.S. Department of Labor - Employment & Training Administration (http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/)

Carnegie, Dale (1998), How to Win Friends & Influence People, Pocket, ISBN 978-0-671-02703-2

Vishal Jain. "Importance of Soft skills development in education"

(http://schoolofeducators.com/2009/02/importance-of-soft-skills-development-in-education/). Retrieved
2012-01-06.

CP. "What soft skills do the Employer look for?" (http://careerpedia.in/2013/04/what-soft-skills-do-the-

employer-look-for/). Retrieved 2013-04-14.

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Categories: Sociological terminology Life skills

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