Critical Soft Skills In the

Workplace

“ How to Play Nice in the

Sandbox”
 What are Soft Skills ?

Cluster of personal qualities, habits,

attitudes and social graces that make
someone a good employee and compatible
to work with
Personal attributes that enhance an
individual’s interactions, job performance
and career prospects
 Soft Skills ….
 Are often described by using terms
often associated with personality
traits, such as:
Optimism
Common Sense
Responsibility
A sense of humor
Integrity
 And abilities that can be practiced
but require the individual to genuinely
like other people) such as:
 Empathy
 Teamwork
 Leadership
 Communication
 Good Manners
 Negotiation
 Sociability
 The ability to teach
 Hard skills will get you an
interview
but you need soft skills to get AND
KEEP the job.
 With business being done at an increasingly fast
pace, employers also want people who are;

Agile
Adaptable
Creative
at solving problems NOT creating them
 Common soft skills employers are
looking for and will be assessing

STRONG WORK ETHIC

Are you motivated and dedicated to

getting the job done, no matter what?

Will you be conscientious and do

your best work?
 POSITIVE ATTITUDE

 Are you optimistic and upbeat?

Will you generate good energy

and good will?
GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Are you both verbally articulate and

a good listener?

Can you make your case and express

your needs in a way that builds
bridges with colleagues, customers
and vendors?
TIME MANAGEMENT ABILITIES

Do you know how to prioritize tasks

and work on a number of different
projects at once?

Will you use your time on the job

wisely?
 PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS

Are you resourceful and able to

creatively solve problems that will
inevitably arise?

Will you take ownership of problems

or leave them for someone else?
 ACTING AS A TEAM PLAYER

Willyou work well in groups and

teams?

Will you be cooperative and take a

leadership role when appropriate?
 SELF- CONFIDENCE

Do you truly believe you can do the job?

Will you project a sense of calm and

inspire confidence in others?

Will you have the courage to ask

questions that need to be asked and to
freely contribute your ideas?
 ABILITY TO ACCEPT
AND LEARN FROM CRITICISM

Will you be able to handle criticism?

 Are you coachable and open to

learning and growing as a person and
as a professional?
FLEXIBILITY/ADAPTABILITY

Are you able to adapt to new

situations and challenges?

Willyou embrace change and be

open to new ideas?
 WORKING WELL UNDER
PRESSURE

Can you handle the stress that

accompanies deadlines and crises?

Will you be able to do your best work

and come through in a pinch?
Three Major Employer Expectations

 Dependable. Employers expect employees to

show up for work on time and be honest and
reliable
 Professionally dressed and groomed.
Employers expect employees to be clean, neat,
and professional in their appearance and follow
dress codes
 Skilled. Employers expect employees to have
the necessary, training, experience, skills, and
credentials to do the job.
 WHY EMPLOYEES GET FIRED
Another way to think about how to succeed comes
from thinking about why employees DON’T
succeed.
Employees lose their jobs because they:
 Are unreliable and absent or late too many
days
 Cannot get along with other workers or their
supervisors
 Refuse to follow orders
 Lie on their resumes or applications or while
on the job
 WHY EMPLOYEES GET FIRED

Steal from their employers

Have unacceptable grooming or
clothes
Use work time for personal business
Cannot do the work, work too slowly,
or make too many mistakes.
Do not follow safety rules
 WHY EMPLOYEES GET FIRED

Ask yourself, Would your

former supervisors use any of
those reasons to describe your
employment history?
 A 2018 survey by CareerBuilder.com showed
that 27 percent of the workers surveyed were
late at least once a month. The most common
reasons they gave included being held up by
traffic(31%), oversleeping(18%), dealing with
bad weather(11%), and taking children to school
or daycare(8%).
 Other reasons included delays in public
transportation, pets, spouses, and television and
Internet usage. About a third of the employers
surveyed said they have had to fire employees
for being late.
Be Honest
Pay Attention to How You Look
Monitor Your Progress
Report to Work on Time
Solve Your Scheduling Problems
Make a Plan for Your life Outside of
Work
Ideally, all employers would be clear
about what they expect from
employees and would provide the
necessary training, guidance, and
feedback to help employees meet those
expectations. Ultimately it is the
employee’s responsibility to make sure
that they are doing their job well.
 To succeed, you have to work smart. Attitude
is a major part of why people are let go.
Whether you are looking for a job, starting a
new one, or wanting to improve your
performance on your current job, other
people– your boss, coworkers, and your
customers will be looking at you, judging
you. They’re trying to make up their minds
whether you fit into their workplace. Your
words, gestures, and actions will tell them
everything they need to know.
 YOUR ATTITUDE CHECK LIST

Arrive early and stay late

Ask for more responsibility
Smile and be friendly
Volunteer to help others
Learn on your own time
Encourage others’ ideas
Ask for more training
Accept new assignments willingly
Accept help from others
Respond defensively
Interrupt others
Complain
Make unrealistic promises
Ignore others
Gossip
Act like a know-it-all
Blame others
Put tasks off to the last minute
Be positive
Let your supervisor know you care
about your performance within the
organization
Volunteer for new assignments
Transfer to a new job at the same
organization
Teach or mentor others
Ask for what you want
Identify skills you need to
improve
Take advantage of on the job
training
Connect with others
Keep learning
Don’t underestimate the
importance of getting to know the
people in your workplace. Not
getting along is one of the main
reasons for being unhappy with a
job and one of the top reasons
people are fired.
 Getting along with others includes:
 Respecting your supervisor
 Being a team player
 Take direction with an open mind
 Respect others’ work areas
 Pay attention to how you communicate with
others
 Resolve conflicts quickly
 Respect others by listening to them
 Learn how to handle difficult coworkers
 Think about the customer
It’s easy to abuse technology. The phone is
right there. The computer is right there.
You’re not hurting anyone by using them
for personal contact right? WRONG
This is another form of theft from the
employer if you spend your time managing
your personal life on the cell phone,
computer or by texting throughout the day.
 Limit personal calls while at work (incoming
and outgoing). Schedule contacts during your
break or lunch hour. If you must take a call
keep it short.
 Phones should be on vibrate so as not to bother
others
 Never use a phone: When driving a car,
operating potentially dangerous machinery, in
the company bathroom, when waiting on a
customer and during a meeting
DO
 Protect your password
 Use the computer as you have been trained to do
 Route computer messages to only the people
who need them
 Follow procedures to avoid introducing viruses
to the internal computer network
 Clean out your email inbox regularly
 Follow policies and report security issues
DON’T
 Use your work email to forward jokes, video
clips, pictures or other non work related items.
 Spend work time surfing the web for pleasure
 Use email to gripe about co workers
 Visit any inappropriate sites
 Access information that does not apply to your
job
 Complain about your workplace on Facebook,
Twitter, or other social media sites
 Startbuilding your professional reputation- You
can build on your reputation by making a few
simple additions to what is typically expected of
you.
 Think like a supervisor- progress from thinking
about only yourself to thinking like a supervisor
who sees the big picture
 Develop your network
 Reach out to work your way up
 Expand your network on line
 Choose a mentor
 THANK YOU VERY MUCH &
TO GOD BE THE GREATER
GLORY !!!

 JIMMY G. TOLOSA, LPT, DM-BA, FRIEdr

 A Licensed Professional Teacher
 Has masteral degrees in Master in Business Administration
(MBA) and Master in School Management (MSM);
 Has doctoral degrees in Doctor of Management in Business
Administration (DM-BA) and an on going Doctor of Philosophy in
Educational Management (Ph.D.-EM).
 A fellow of Royal Institute of Educators (FRIEdr) by the Royal
Institute of Singapore.
 Formerly, an OFW, working as a Casino Dealer/Supervisor at
Norwegian Cruise Lines, Miami, Florida, USA
 Formerly, an Instructor, Department Head and Registrar of ACSI
College Iloilo.
 Presently, a Regional Education Supervisor II at the Commission
on Higher Education Regional Office VI, in charge of Business
Administration, Entrepreneurship, Office Administration, Real
Estate Management and other Related Programs.