Soft & Transferable Skills
By Marshall Wolf
Career Services Coordinator
Penta Career Center
Soft Skills
• These are character traits and interpersonal
skills that characterize a person’s relationships
with other people
• Have more to do with who we are than what we
know
▫ Include personal qualities, habits, attitudes and
social graces
• Decide how well we interact with others
Soft Skills Statistics
• 93% of U.S. employers say soft skills are “weighed
more heavily” when looking at job candidates than a
candidate’s academic credentials
• 80% of workers age 18 to 34 believe they are "job
ready and possess all the skills, experience
and education needed to advance in their desired
career path or obtain their next job."
• Only 16% of 18-34 year-olds surveyed see soft skills
as necessary for career advancement.
• In other words, 84% of potential employees don’t
value the skills that 93% of employers want!
Wakefield Research
What Employers say about Soft Skills
• "Job-seekers need to start marketing themselves based
on the skills, competencies and traits employers need
and value most.”
• “I would say that they [college graduates] are falling
short in knowing how to work as part of a team, conflict
resolution and just overall communications”
• 47% of employers think young workers have a poor work
ethic
• A National Association of Colleges and Employers report
identified the ability to make decisions, solve problems,
and communicate effectively with diverse groups of
people among those qualities most prized by employers.
From: Employers find applicants soft on 'soft skills‘ &
College Graduates Suffer From a Lack of "Soft Skills"
Soft Skills
• Generally broken down into two categories:
▫ Interpersonal attributes
 Working with others
▫ Personal attributes
 Working on our own
Examples of Interpersonal Attributes
Working with others
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Empathy
Leadership
Communication
Teamwork
Good manners
Ability to teach others
Works well with diversity
Self-confidence
Examples of Personal Attributes
Working on your own
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Optimism
Responsibility
Integrity
Time management
Motivation
Common sense
Flexibility
Problem solving
Willing to learn
Soft Skills
• Traditionally one of the most difficult things to teach
• The most common reason for:
▫ Not hiring
▫ Not promoting
• Focus on your soft skills and practice using them:
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At school
At your part-time job
With your family and friends
For performance evaluations
It is often said that technical skills will
get you an interview, but you need
soft skills to get and keep the job!
Soft Skills Quiz
• Google “how to improve soft skills”
• Choose the option “Develop Your Soft Skills For
Workplace Success/The Fast Track
• In the third paragraph, click on “Soft Skills Quiz”
• Take the quiz and get your results!
• \\Pccstaff\general\HOMEDIR\TEACHERS\MWOLF\Ca
reer Services\career development\Career Services
Workshops\Soft Transferable and Technical
Skills\Develop Your Soft Skills For Workplace
Success The Fast Track.htm
Soft Skills
• Look at your list of soft skills
• Choose 3 of the skills on the list
• Write a 1-2 sentence description of how that soft
skill would be applied to a career related to your
CT Program
• Share your descriptions with a partner