Over the past year, I’ve read several books that emphasize how the changing workforce has impacted the American labor force. Over the past thirty years, we have seen jobs outsourced and manufacturing facilities moved to areas outside of the US. Some in today’s labor force are finding it difficult to accept the jobs model that originated during the Industrial Age is gone—forever.
Earlier in my career I was laid off
and furloughed multiple times. Finally, I realized I had to re-tool to
acquire sought-after and marketable employment skills. Acquiring a technical degree
provided unimaginable opportunities for me, yet I had to differentiate
myself from the other graduates to gain and retain my career in the IT field.
While today's students are studying hard to
complete courses and graduate, they must remember the market will require talents that
are not learned in the book. To improve their competitive edge students will need to develop and sharpen their soft
skills.
Written and verbal communication, interpersonal, creativity, leadership, problem solving, and motivation skills are the soft skills that you will need to build to succeed in the business world. It is well-documented that the level in which these skills are developed is indicative of your emotional intelligence.
Written and verbal communication, interpersonal, creativity, leadership, problem solving, and motivation skills are the soft skills that you will need to build to succeed in the business world. It is well-documented that the level in which these skills are developed is indicative of your emotional intelligence.
I would advise adult learners to consider
building the first three in the list --communications, interpersonal, and
creativity skills. These well-honed skills can immediately differentiate you
from the person in the next cubicle.
It was my nature to listen more than
I spoke in group settings. But I seldom hesitated to ask questions for
fear of sounding uninformed. In the classroom, this served me well. The cost of
the courses alone were enough to motivate me get my money's worth out of each course. If I did not understand portions
of the lecture, I spoke up and had the professor repeat or further elaborate on
certain points until I was clear. Other students often nodded to convey their
‘thanks’ because they were just as lost as I was on that topic.
In the workplace, I was also very
comfortable with approaching and communicating with people at all levels of the
business. Similarly, I never felt pressure when it came to contributing my ideas in meetings, even
as a menial clerical worker. Fortunately, these were not hurdles
for me.
However, until I learned the art of making small talk and then 'The Pitch', I fact-checked my content and rehearsed every word before I cold-called department heads to communicate or make a request.
However, until I learned the art of making small talk and then 'The Pitch', I fact-checked my content and rehearsed every word before I cold-called department heads to communicate or make a request.
In 1996, I interned with a company
to gain some experience with a large IT department. Late one evening, the
manager requested the team pull together a report within a short timeframe.
We divided the tasks. For my
portion, I used Excel to create spreadsheets using the V-Lookup function and pivot
tables. The team was wowed by these simple
tools. I showed them how it was done. I had been considering ways to apply the lessons from
my Decision Sciences course and this was the perfect opportunity to be creative
and differentiate my skills.
The manager offered me a full-time
position with an equitable compensation package the next week. Overtime, I
developed even better techniques to provide clear and concise presentations to
communicate with executive management when I needed their decisions and
approvals.
If you reading this and know that
you have the temperament that does not lend well to connecting with people, delivering presentations or
speaking in a room filled with your peers and management, then use your class
time and assignments to improve on your written and verbal communication, interpersonal and
creativity skills.
Here is an assignment if this
message speaks to you.
1. Overcome your
fear of judgement and be the first to ask a question in class when you don’t
understand.
2. Speak up and
share your thoughts on the subject matter to the professor.
3. Volunteer to help
others if you have grasped a concept that other students are struggling to
learn.
4. Create, create,
create…incorporate your innate talents and unique views, where it makes sense, into your
assignments. You are one of a kind. Show off your exceptional aptitude for being creative!
5. Attend school
events and get comfortable in this setting with approaching school administrators, professors
and students to learn more about them.
What
this does for you is clarify that you are smarter than you believed, provides
self-confirmation that you have something to contribute, affords an opportunity
for you to meet like-minded people and discover there are great folks out there
who see your unique abilities and they want to know you, too.
Taking
these actions will build your confidence and expand your connections. These
small steps can help you gain the attention of the people willing to mentor you
on your new career path or assist with advancing your career.
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ReplyDeleteWow... what a great story!
ReplyDeleteMy life's story is similar as I once found myself at a crossroads career wise. Like you, I chose the Information Technology path and have been rewarded with success as well.
Your article provides great information but don't forget to remind folks that the I/T field requires constant re-training. Even now, I am spending much time and effort to learn the latest and greatest in web application development!
Johnny C