Mark Murphy, the author of Hire for Attitude, in an interview states that 46% of new hires fail in the first 18 months, and 89% of them wholly fail for attitudinal reasons. He adds that only 11% fail owing to lack of hard skills. Gone are the days when one could think that sound technical prowess alone is the key to emerge triumphant at an interview. Whether it is software, engineering, finance or management, it is not just adequate to have strong domain skills. Managers lay firm emphasis on the desired soft skills like infectious enthusiasm, knack of taking initiative, vibrant communication, top-notch skills for collaboration, etc. that can really demonstrate what a candidate brings to a job. Hence, during the selection process, the HR is keen to assess the soft skills of the candidates to predict their ability to perform in a job. Most managers also express that employees endowed with excellent soft skills are far more successful in the long run than those who are woefully short of it. It is widely observed that employees with poor soft skills witness a steady decline in their ability and productivity, while employees with a fine blend of soft skills and hard skills carve out a place for themselves in the professional arena. In this age of unprecedented globalization and fierce competition, managers without proper soft skills are ill-suited to take up top level managerial positions that demand high level of prioritization and sound people skills. According to a report by CareerBuilder, the top five soft skills that managers want to see in candidates are strong work ethics (73%), dependability (73%), positive attitude (72%), self-motivation (66%) and teamwork-friendly (60%).

In an era of fierce competition and scarce opportunities, those aspiring to grab top- notch opportunities must possess market-relevant competencies that recruiters specifically look for. A lot of candidates proactively invest their valuable time, efforts and resources in sharpening their skills to become suitable for the job and experience splendid growth. The paper, “The Effects of Generic Competences on Employment Outcomes”, by Ronald Lievens and W I E Wesseling, presents broad perspectives on the reasons for unemployment among the youth and elaborates on the role of generic competences in finding suitable employment.

In an environment of information explosion and conflicting choices, a lot of youngsters are uncertain about their own career choices. It is not an easy task to secure a suitable job for oneself in these testing times. This problem can easily be addressed by doing an internship during graduation. A good internship not only inculcates great learning and experience but also presents an opportunity to test-drive one’s career option. Companies that follow good man power planning practices ideally end up picking the interns for full time positions based on their performance. The paper, “Soft Skills as a Predictor of Perceived Internship Effectiveness and Permanent Placement Opportunity”, by Deepika Dabke, aims at examining the association between soft skills of management interns and its influence on the perception of industry mentors in considering them for a placement.

Despite the great strides humanity has taken in the field of communication, body language or non-verbal communication remains one of the major pillars on which the entire communication rests. Frank Gillette Burgess in saying “our bodies are apt to be our autobiographies” reveals how deficient the language can be and how powerful our body is in expressing the emotions. The paper, “The Importance of Non-Verbal Communication”, by Deepika Phutela, is an overview of different types of non-verbal communication such as body language, hand movement, facial expressions, and eye contact. It presents the role of non-verbal communication in promoting understanding and building relationships.

IT jobs are not just about technical skills anymore. ‘No matter what the industry is, you do business with those who you like to do business with’ goes an old saying. Effective communication, sound personality, relationship skills and leadership traits are becoming the new yardstick for selection in IT industry that has witnessed high demand for technical skills. “Soft Skills: A Panacea for Enhancing Engineering Graduates’ Employability in IT Industry”, by Priti Vyas and Gajendra Singh Chauhan, presents the views of IT students about the soft skills necessary for a successful IT professional.

-- Mendemu Showry
Consulting Editor