Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Problem solving: is a soft skill that allows individuals to address and overcome challenges in the workplace. This skill can make you a valuable team member and allow you to help others address issues they encounter, helping the team and company improve.
Creativity: is a soft skill that allows you to think innovatively and develop new ideas to support your team and colleagues. It can also be vital when contributing to brainstorming sessions, product development or marketing and graphic design processes.
Integrity: is a soft skill that can show employers you're honest, reliable and hold yourself accountable for your actions. This is a vital skill if you're a member of a team or make contributions to collaborative projects and initiatives. Some of these skills are:
- Time management
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Creativity
- Leadership
- Interpersonal skills
- Work ethic
- Attention to details
Soft skills are essential for success in the workplace, both for employees and employers. They are the social abilities that enable us to interact effectively with others, and they play a vital role in our ability to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems.
Although hard skills (technical expertise like accounting, sales, technical worker etc.) show employers your expertise and technical abilities, soft skills indicate your ability to collaborate with your colleagues and grow within a company. Soft skills can help you build relationships and solve problems so you can make positive contributions to an organization. Understanding how to list them on your resume, demonstrate them in an interview and develop them in the workplace can help you find new opportunities and advance your career.
Some professions, such as customer service, rely primarily on individuals' soft skills, but they're relevant across roles and industries. Any time individuals interact with their coworkers, clients or customers, they can use soft skills to make their work easier or more efficient. Developing and improving soft skills is important because they can help employees perform their tasks successfully and further their professional development.
Dr. Shahid Mir is a Fulbright Post - Doc. Research Scholar from Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, California, USA. Dr. Mir also holds a PhD degree in Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering. Dr. Mir has been associated with IBA for the last 22 years teaching various courses like Organizational Behavior, Entrepreneurship and Leadership and Operations Management in BBA, MBA and Executive MBA programs. In addition to teaching, he is involved in research, corporate and government employees trainings and consulting work.
Dr. Mir is a LUMS/McGill/CIDA, certified Trainer on social development Programs, USAID Master Trainer on Jobs Pakistan, and SPPRA certified Trainer on public Procurement.
Dr. Mir has designed and delivered scores of training programs for various corporate and public sector organizations including Higher Education Commission, Pakistan Refinery Limited, Federal Board of Revenue, ENGRO, Sindh Government and other federal and provincial government employees including a number of corporate trainings.
Dr. Mir has served as Chairman, Department of Management, In-charge Admissions and at various senior management positions at IBA. He recently completed projects on Skill Development and Women Empowerment in District Tharparkar in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Dr. Mir is a firm believer of women and youth empowerment and through various initiatives have transformed lives of poor and destitute people at various villages in Pakistan. The provisioning of skill development is a way forward towards empowering youth to become successful in their future endeavors.
