5 Soft Skills in The Workplace You MUST Need for Career Growth
Every young professional or fresher must develop soft skills in the workplace, which are a crucial component of one’s career growth. Because, there comes numerous situations in a person’s career, where soft skills have an upper edge over hard skills.
As a person leading a company; here are five soft skills in the workplace that I think everyone must have for a fruitful career.
Related: Career Guidance for Students – The Ultimate Manual
1. Clear and concise communication
Being able to communicate is one of the most important skills to master. From the point of view of someone who is just about to enter the workforce, there are multiple facets to this. Here are three important aspects of clear and concise communication:
a) Getting a hold of the language, both spoken and in writing form.
b) Effective transfer of information is another one which means you have to be clear and your message must be straight without any sentences, which build presumption or ambiguity.
c) Being audible is also crucial while having a one to one communication. Your voice must have confidence and calmness.
Also, I would like to point out one thing: While speaking about communication, we generally miss out on the importance of listening. Being a good listener is very critical for a young professional.
2. Sensible digital communication
No one teaches you how to email in school. All of us learn this in our first jobs, and it’s important more than ever to read up on effective communication and put it into practice. Thus, for digital communication, here are some tips that help you to have a more sensible approach:
a) Be mindful of what you write and how you write. Use the right salutation and the right tone in an email. Hence it also becomes important to use the right words.
b) Use a spell check tool and something like Grammarly. It’s important that you ‘quality check’ your email/chat before you hit the send button. Construct your sentences well.
c) There is a wonderful quote that says “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter email”. It’s best to be concise and to the point.
d) Format your email/chat well – don’t use all CAPS, etc. Also, respect privacy and ask permission to forward emails depending on the situation. Give and take respect. Refrain from sharing anything unsuitable.
3. Team Work
“You are only as good as your team.”
A good team makes work enjoyable and fun. Thus, I would like to share some best practices for teamwork.
a) Every team should have a meaningful purpose. Every team member should know why they are doing it and what they are doing.
b) Clarity of what role each one plays and what dependencies are important. A clear communication channel where everyone shares ideas and feedback goes a long way. Here, a leader plays an important role.
c) A good team celebrates wins and solves problems together. When team members trust each other and show gratitude, it maximizes output and efficiency.
4. Effective meeting management
Your first impression in a meeting can make or break your reputation. Thus, here is what you must do to have a great meeting session:
a) When you are meeting someone, having a radiant smile and being positive and courteous creates a great first impression. It’s always good to spend some time knowing each other rather than get into business/work.
b) Being pretentious can backfire in the long run, so be sincere and yourself.
c) Being on schedule and being well-groomed also helps in creating a good impression. Again wear something that suits the occasion.
5. Be ethical and authentic
As fresh graduates entering the workforce, you are prone to get influenced by what superiors do, and you learn from them. However, you can check if you are learning the right thing or going in the wrong direction:
a) Office politics can corrupt you, and in the long run, it’s very unpleasant. So, look for signals and stay away as much as possible.
b) Again, don’t be selfish and manipulative of others. If caught doing a wrong act, you could end up getting punished and having a black mark on your profile.
c) Try to refrain from being part of groups that pit people against each other.
d) Be humble it will help in a long way. Remember, life is a boomerang. What you give you get.
In the end, it’s very important to know that learning doesn’t stop at joining a job; each day has an opportunity to learn soft skills in the workplace, and you must look for them to catapult your career in the right direction.
With over 10+ years of experience in Marketing, Manu founded denture Capital in 2016, now known as guch in its present avatar. guch helps brands all over the world create high-quality video content. Manu has a knack for people & loves being an entrepreneur & storyteller. He is everybody’s go-to guy for anything & everything video.
