Improving Students' & Graduates' Soft Skills
As a Career Services Advisor, I hear from employers all the time that it is not the graduates knowledge or abilities that they question, it is their soft skills. How can I, in the time I work with them on their Externships (three months) during their last term at school, can I emphasize that their soft skills need to be improved/maintained to a level of professionalism which will satisfy employers, AND, which will enable the students/graduates to be successful in their new careers?
Riley,
Thanks so much for sharing this-very helpful!
Elizabeth Kemler
Amanda,
I have often received this same feedback from employers in my local area. Whether it is a student's inability to approach an employer in a large forum such as a Career Fair or in a smaller setting such as coming in to their business to drop off a resume. We have faced this issue by introducing what we call "spotlight events," these events allow for students to interact with one employer in a smaller setting to practice their soft skills in a sort of "vacuum." We have also introduced a Career Development Series that allows for the Career Services Team to tackle this issue in a class setting that forces students to reexamine these skills and offer each other feedback so it is not always coming from us. I feel that they react best to feedback if they can either see themselves creating the error, such as with the spotlight events, or can hear the feedback from their peers, as in the Career Development Series.
I hope this helps!
Riley Prendergast
Amanda,
What a great question. I have heard the very same thing over and over-that it is the student's poor communication skills that keep them from getting the job-and that is the case at all levels of employment. I think that every school needs to have a life and career skills program in place to ensure that students are really prepared, not only for the interview process but also to succeed on the job once they secure one. You can download anything helpful here at the MaxKnowledge site, but also feel free to check out my website which has a number of helpful exercises you can download on the Resources page. The site is: tblsuccess.com
Elizabeth Kemler
