In the past, on the contrary, we used to fill our CVs with all kinds of course titles, no matter how small they were, just to fatten our dossiers and make us look more interesting.
Today, fortunately, all these qualities, which have been called soft skills or softskills, are increasingly in demand, and best of all, and what I like the most, is that they are starting to be taught in schools and colleges. This, from my point of view, is very positive for the connection between people in an increasingly technological society where artificial intelligence is gaining ground.
In many cases, soft skills acquire greater value in a selection process than the technical skills specific to the position, which are measurable and easier to sift through at the time of selection.
What are the most valued soft skills?
There are many and we could include a very long list, but here I show you the ones that are increasingly in demand in professional vacancies.
Teamwork
Since the world went pandemic, teleworking and online training are here to stay. One of the advantages of this way of working is that we all learned, by force, to use collaboration tools such as Teams, SharePoint, OneNote, etc. and I believe that this has changed us for the better, as we are now more able to share, to share tasks, to interact. Communication is more fluid between colleagues and there are now work groups that we can turn to when we need to because there is always someone on the other side ready to help. At Telefónica we can find the Digital Tools, Telefónica Secretariat, Health and Wellbeing groups, and many others.
In our company, moreover, training in these tools is available to everyone. We are very fortunate to have great trainers who teach us through their training pills and their publications on internal social networks informing us of the latest developments and so we will always be up to date.
If you are one of those who collaborate regularly with your colleagues in your day-to-day work, you already have a softskill learnt.
Creativity
Creativity is not only a quality of a few and it does not only refer to being a person who is good at painting, or composing, or making beautiful murals on a wall. Creativity goes beyond that, it is the ability to see beyond what is in front of us.
It is the ability to get out of our comfort zone and face everything that comes our way. And, as I wrote in a previous article, the good news is that it is a skill that we can all develop.
Critical thinking
If you are one of those people who, as a friend of mine says: “don’t believe anything you are told and half of what you see. If you are also a curious person, who analyses every detail, who has your own ideas and who seeks information in order to be selective, you will be able to solve problems more easily and your critical thinking will be more developed. If you are like this, you are on your way to finding that job you like so much.
As Einstein, a clear example of critical thinking, said: “The mind is like a parachute, it only works if it is open”.
Empathy and active listening
We all know that empathy is the ability that many people have to put themselves in the other person’s shoes, without judging, trying to understand how that person feels in a given situation and not how you would feel. And for this, active listening is fundamental.
If you consider yourself an empathic person, congratulations. If not, you are in luck, because you can develop it. It is essential to leave prejudices aside and listen attentively to the other person, not only to what they say, but also to what they do not say, how they express themselves, their non-verbal language.
A very useful practice is something as simple as reading a lot and watching films, understanding the characters in different situations.
Why is empathy so necessary in the personal sphere and, of course, in the workplace?
Because we become more trustworthy, generous, collaborative, influential. We become more objective. Our social relations are much better, with all the benefits that this entails. We become closer to our colleagues and we are better liked. Surely you would hire someone like that yourself, wouldn’t you? And our self-esteem grows and we learn more and learn better.
Commitment
A word that scares a lot of people, but in the end it means nothing more than having a common goal and fighting for that goal, which makes motivation and productivity much better.
A good compromise is one in which everyone works together.
Now that we are celebrating our centenary, we all have the same dream, the same goal and that is to “Imagine what the next hundred years will be like”, which will surely make us more innovative, more creative and more productive. We are united by the same commitment.
Resilience
Surely by now you are familiar with the term resilience. It is the ability of human beings to overcome adversity or difficulties in life and to turn that pain into learning. That said, it may seem harsh and deep down it is, but the important thing about resilient people is the transformation they make of pain and bad times into learning, and this will surely help them to cope better in similar or not so similar situations in the future. You know the saying: “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”.
There are many more soft skills such as adaptability to change, emotional intelligence, level of autonomy. They are not measurable and are specific to the individual, acquired through personal and work experience. They are not learned in any training, although they can be developed by working hard on oneself.
Did you know that they are becoming so important that in many companies they have gone from soft skills to power skills, so now is a good time for reflection, introspection and constant effort to start cultivating our abilities.
Let’s put muscle into our softer skills.
