Jessica Burns

Mike Baker
John Klinger
Soft Skills- refer to the cluster of
personality traits, social graces, facility
with language, personal habits,
friendliness, and optimism that mark
people to varying degrees
Hard Skills- the technical requirements of
a job (assembly, labor, etc)
Beginning to adopt soft skills as a major
component of required skills for a job
Blue collar jobs are moving overseas due
to lower costs
America moving more towards service
industry
Customer Service and
Orientation
Focusing more on people than processes
Todays service economy and ascendance
of work teams in large organizations puts a
new premium on people skills and
relationship-building Lori Kocon- human
resources expert
Soft skills = People skills=Street Smarts
Comes from European Social Fund
project
Soft outcomes-outcomes from training,
support or guidance which are unlike
traditional outcomes, for instance,
qualifications and jobs which can not be
measured directly or tangibly
Balanced Scorecard (virtually impossible to
attain numbers)
Soft indicators- means by which we can
measure whether the outcomes have
been achieved
Indicate acquisition of progress towards an
outcome, how we can put a number on
measurement of accomplished goals
Strong work ethic
Positive attitude
Good communication skills
Time management abilities
Problem-solving skills
Acting as a team player
Self-confidence
Ability to accept and learn from criticism
Flexibility/adaptability
Working well under pressure
Strong work ethic-Are you motivated and
dedicated to getting the job done, now
matter what? Will you be conscientious
and do your best work?
Positive attitude-Are you optimistic and
upbeat? Will you generate good energy
and good will
Good communication skills- Are you both
verbally articulate and a good listener?
Can you make your case and express
needs in a way that builds bridges with
colleagues, customers and vendors
Time management abilities- Do you know
how to prioritize tasks and work on a
number of different projects at once? Will
you use your time on the job wisely?
Problem-solving skills-are you
resourceful and able to creatively solve
problems that will inevitably arise? Will
you take ownership of problems or leave
them for someone else?
Acting as a team player- Will you work
well in groups and teams? Will you be
cooperative and take a leadership role
when appropriate?
Self-confidence-Do yo truly believe you
can do the job? Will you project a sense
of calm and inspire confidence in others?
Ability to accept and learn from criticism-
Will you be able to handle criticism? Are
you coachable and open to learning and
growing as a person and a professional?

Flexibility/Adaptability- Are you able to
adapt to new situations and challenges?
Will you embrace change and be open to
new idea?
Working well under pressure- Can you
handle the stress that accompanies
deadlines and crises? Will you be able to
do your best work and come through in a
pinch?
More and more businesses are
considering soft skills as an important job
criteria
An increase in service industry
emphasizes the need for soft skills
Soft skills are used in personal and
professional life
Questions