Soft Skills Employers Value In Employees

Submitted and designed by the Bakersfield College Computer Studies Advisory Board

Rick Rodriquez, Committee Chairman

Division Chief, Application Development

County of Kern - Information Technology Services

Attitude

A positive “can-do” attitude when facing new or difficult tasks is a highly valued characteristic. When an employee says they can’t do something because it is too difficult, they have never done it before, or that they have always done it another way, they create the perception that they fear or are resistant to change, and that they are being difficult.

Communication

The ability to effectively communicate with your superiors, co-workers, subordinates, customers, and vendors is critical skill for a successful career. The ability to speak clearly and articulate your thoughts and ideas allows you to effectively communicate and to contribute to a discussion. The ability to write clearly and convey your thoughts and ideas is an essential skill. Whether it is to document an event, an operational procedure, a problem solution, or any other item, the ability to create a clear and concise document is a valuable commodity to possess. Not only do you need to be an effective speaker and writer, you must be able to listen effectively. To be able to absorb and understand not only what others say, but also what they mean, is a very valuable skill.

Teamwork

In most employment situations, you will not act as a lone individual performing tasks that don’t affect others. You will be both a consumer and a provider of work within an organization. You will be part of a team. As such, you must be able to effectively interact with others within your team and to be a positive contributor toward the team goals. Your success or failure will not be measured as an individual, but as a team and an organization.

Leadership

As part of a team, your ability and willingness to act as a leader is a highly valued skill. As mentioned above, success or failure is measured as part of a team and an organization. Team success is directly affected by the leader’s ability to direct and focus the skills and talents of the other team members toward achieving the team’s goals. Leadership can come in many forms. It can be formal such as a supervisor over a group of employees, or it can be informal such as when others look to the person with the most knowledge of a subject. Leadership is a quality that is often a prerequisite for advancement within an organization.

Judgment

Employers value highly those individuals who possess good judgment. During your career, you will be faced with many decisions. Some of those decisions could have major ramifications for you and the organization. The ability to reason and decide the proper course is critical to the well-being and success of the organization.

Versatility

Employers value highly those individuals who are capable of performing multiple roles. Your versatility allows your employer to quickly fill gaps in areas where particular skills and expertise may be hard or expensive to obtain. That makes you more valuable to the organization.

Flexibility

Being versatile is not enough, you must be willing to exercise your abilities for the benefit of the organization. For your employer, your having knowledge or skills and not sharing them is the same as your not having them. You must be prepared to utilize your abilities for them to have value. Additionally, your flexibility in regard to work schedules and various tasks allows the organization to be flexible and responsive. This kind of flexibility is also valued highly by employers.

Adaptability

Employers value individuals who can handle unforeseen or unknown situations. Your ability to change and adapt to a situation allows the organization to keep functioning.

Tolerance

In the workplace, you will encounter people that are different from you in many ways. You will need to be able to accept these differences as part of the person you are interacting with and still perform your required tasks. Derogatory characterizations or comments regarding those differences, particularly in the form of slurs, epithets, or stereotypes, is unacceptable and should not be committed by you or tolerated from others.

Courage

During your career, you will encounter situations that will require you to make difficult decisions or perform difficult actions in order to “do the right thing”. Silence or inaction that could lead to injury (financial, personal, or physical) of others or the organization is not acceptable. You must be prepared to gather your courage and act.