To be a success in life, there are crucial skills that are known as academic soft skills that you will need to master. These skills will not only help you in your day to day life, they will help you be a success in the workplace. No matter which school you attend, you will be sure to learn the following nine academic soft skills, whether you realize it or not!
Teamwork
No matter where you end up in the work place, there will be a time where you will need to use teamwork. Reaching common goals with those you work with will be crucial to getting the job done and working together to reach those goals will be how you do it.
Teamwork will require hearing everyone’s opinions and even sometimes working with people you don’t necessarily like. However, these things should not get in the way of the overall goal or task. You know those group projects you have to do? Those are real life applications of teamwork!
Presentation
Getting up in front of the class to present your report or project might seem nerve wracking and even overwhelming. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. The art of presentation will enable you to be calm when you are in a job interview or presenting something in front of your team. You will need to be confident, dressed appropriately, and speaking clearly.
Making Decisions
Being able to make sound decisions is an essential for being a great leader, but it is not just solely for those who are leaders. Having the ability to be decisive and make the correct choice is a key to life. Being wishy-washy or unable to decide upon something makes people seem like they are scared to make a choice and face the possible consequences.
Managing Time Properly
The ability to manage your time and your schedule will be a very important part of your educational experience. There will be studies, exams, dissertation writing assignments, and of course a social life that you will have to juggle. During your college experience you will create to do lists, set goals, and give yourself time limits for your assignments and tasks.
Properly managing your time in college will easily transfer to the workplace. Every job will require you to prioritize the daily tasks at hand and prepare you for larger goals.
Adaptability
Being able to adapt to change will be essential for any career. Positive or negative, change happens in life and in the workplace. Having the flexibility to go with the punches will enable you to conquer hurdles and tasks within the workplace. Change may be hard to face at first, but the more change you experience in life the easier you will be able to deal with it.
Humor
Having a sense of humor will allow you to look at life a little more lightly. Even at work. Humor can relieve stress and make the day more fun. When humor is used appropriately, you can have success because humor can:
- Release tension in situations
- Relieve stress
- Drive a point home
- Influence
- Increase sales
- Increase your likability to strangers
Solving Problems
When you get hired for a job, you will of course receive training for your role. Regardless of having prior training or prior experience, you will need to have the ability to solve problems by yourself. When you are in the workplace you will put your problem solving skills to good use to complete tasks and reach goals in the best way possible.
Diplomacy
Working well with others will be learned in college, yet it differs from teamwork. You will need to learn when and how to give your opinions and how to work with others in a calm way as well as develop negotiation skills.
Diplomacy will enable you to convince others instead of forcing others to do something or go along with a plan. This will mean compromise. Diplomacy will also enable you to avoid escalation and breakdown in communication.
Research Skills
One thing you will need to do often in college is research. Whether it be for a report or a project, research will happen. The great thing is, researching skills are much needed in the workplace. Finding common and/quick answers to a question or problem will be useful so you not only find the answer but complete the task at hand.
Managers will expect their employees to quickly assess the situation at hand, gather accurate and in depth information, as well as seek many perspectives. You will need to do all of this as well as complete it in a timely manner.
When you are in college or a secondary education, you will begin to develop all sorts of skills, including these 9 soft skills. These soft skills will help you day in and day out with your future career or job. While these skills are not formerly taught, they will be executed as you are on your educational journey.
