Wikipedia defines soft skills like this:

Soft skills is a sociological term for a person’s “EQ” (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), which refers to the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark us.

Interpersonal skills include:

• Participation in a team
• Ability to teach
• Service
• Leading a team
• Negotiation
• Unite a team amidst cultural differences
• Motivation
• Decision-making skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Etiquette

As you can see the above skills are generic to any job - IT, Banking, Shipping, Manufacturing,.. you can name any industry and the most successful managers in all those industries will be very good in most of the skills mentioned above. Whether you are a fresher just beginning your career or somebody with industry experience, if you start focusing on your soft skills you can go places in your career. Here are some tips to get you started with developing your soft skills.

1. Listen:

Yes, listening is one of the most important parts of effective communication. It is important that the person who is talking to you feels confident that you are paying attention to what he is saying. This will help them communicate better with you and by listening carefully you will be able to respond in a precise manner that will help getting your point across.

2. Oral and Verbal skills:

Whatever your job, there will be opportunities to impress your colleagues and your boss with your writing and speaking ability at some stage (in some cases, almost every day!) So it is important that you focus on this. An easy way to improve your skills will be start emailing your friends in length and engaging in discussions with friends who have similar interests to you career wise.

3. Dress up well:

Yes, it is very important to look good and show off! When a client walks into your office, the boss will be keen to show the client that his team is a professional bunch and he will take a liking to those who have projected a good image. Remember, first impression is the best impression! If you are serious about your career, professional looking and ironed clothes, cleanly shaven face, well groomed hair, polishes shoes and where applicable a suit are all a must. If you have never thought about this aspect before, it is time to start thinking about an image makeover for you!

4. Politeness:

It is important that you have a smiling face as you walk into the office building, especially if it is for your interview. Regardless of how serious the person at the reception looks, politely greet them and introduce yourself. While you are in a job, make sure that you greet your colleagues as you make your way to your seat. Come across as a polite person who everybody would like to talk to. When any of your colleagues come to talk to you, especially asking for help or advice, reply with a smile. This will go a long way in establishing a positive vibe around you giving you an edge over others in your workplace.

These are only some of the tips for getting started on improving your soft skills. Your soft skills grow with time as long as you consciously keep working on them and keep learning every day. With every passing day, you will get more and more confident and you will be well on your way in becoming a star employee at your workplace!

Watch out this space for more tips and pointers for soft skills development!

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This is an extract from an article published in Rediff (please see the bottom of the article for the link to the full article)

Treat the job search process as a job

If you are unemployed, your focus or the interim job now is to get a new job. That means that you must dedicate part or full time hours to a structured job pursuit. Set a schedule everyday for networking with peers, finding leads and openings, preparing customised resumes and cover letters and finally sending them across to prospective employers.

An astute sense of focus will give you better results and enable you to find a job faster. A job search will involve picking up the phone and making cold calls, appearing for several interviews, facing rejection etc. A structured approach will make it easier for you to handle these new variables in your life.

Open up your mind to new sectors / jobs

Based on your professional and personal needs, form goals directed toward your next employment move. Sometimes setbacks can hold the gem of an exciting new opportunity. For example, let’s say you enjoy designing websites for friends and you have your own blog. You’ve dreamed about taking this hobby to a professional level. Does the ending of your current job give you the chance to go for your dream? You may opt to work either full time or part time while you get trained for and launch a new business. There are many ways to make it happen. Look for the opportunity in the setback.

Industries to target

While all sectors are affected, to some extent, by the current problems of the global economy, some are doing relatively better and professionals may target such sectors. First, the FMCG sector is a strong “defensive” industry. The demand for the daily consumption goods is less elastic both on income and on price levels. It is therefore, not surprising that their share prices have fallen much less, about 30 per cent, from their recent peaks, compared to 90 per cent in the Realty sector.

Other such sectors, still growing, are Telecom, Pharma, Power, Power Equipment and Financial Services. Take an inventory of your skill sets and see if you need to educate yourself further. It is a fact that the more education you have, the more money you can make in your lifetime. A downturn is a good time to head back to school and learn. There are several management and other short-term programmes that are offered these days by several leading institutions. Education opens the door and shows that you are a learner, able to stay the course, and have a measurable knowledge in your field.

Being in a job makes it easier to trade up later. Use multiple channels — job sites; placement firms; responses to ads; direct applications; leveraging suitable contacts, etc. Before each interview, do good home work on that company. Take some training in job hunting. Don’t appear desperate. Stay optimistic. The upturn will come.

You can read the full article here