Value of Soft Skills
What role do soft skills play in veteran career success?
When I was a career advisor I would always focus on soft skill strengths of our veteran students. Sometime (many times) they do not realize how powerful their leadership skills are, as well as their strong work ethic and will to succeed at a task or function. I think focusing on these attributes helps raise confidence levels immensely. Plus, over the years companies put more and more emphasis on soft skills - advantage for veterans.
I agree. Veterans have a very hard time talking about themselves. They have been taught that the team is the ultimate fighting force and all individual efforts are manifested through the success of the team. In the civilian world it is different. As hard as it may be, veterans must learn to talk about themselves, what they bring to the "civilian fight", but remain humble at the same time. What are some ways that you can help the veteran brag on themselves so their civilian bosses can quickly discover the attributes of leadership and dedication to task the veterans bring to their employer?
I think that soft skills play a vital role in the success of any potential student looking to find success, veteran or not. The ability to understand how to create and communicate relevancy through written and oral communication is a key soft skill. So too is the ability to manage time, and to be able to present yourself professionally both through word and deed.
We spend a lot of time working with our veteran students to help them hone these soft skills as they progress through their program of study by using workshops and in-class projects to demonstrate, give an opportunity to apply, and then reinforce the skill(s) through a peer led review.
Stephanie, you have a good appreciation of the soft skills needed. To get more specific, I have found that active duty service members (me included) tend to be very direct using email while in service. But I find that approach does not work in corporate America. I have found that I have had to soften my e-mail approach. What specific direction or guidance do you provide to your students so that their emails take on a less harsh tone? If you do provide this kind of coaching, how has it been received by veterans?
I don't think it's just email. I think in the military you get used to the very direct approach and I think alot of times it can be misunderstood as being harsh
James,
When I transitioned I had to "tone down" my interactions with others. E-mails that used to start with a person's name, now include a "Hi" to be more approachable and conversations that used to be laced with very mission oriented language now includes some pleasantries that I would normally have not included in a conversation in the military. But I realized that I was the one that needed to fit in and had to change my approach. How do you suggest that we coach our transitioning military to be able to "fit in" better when it comes to peer interactions in the workplace?
Garland Williams, Ph.D.
Soft Skills play a huge role in a candidates ability to sell their skill or the value of the skill however they need to give a scenario of how when and where they used the skill. The skill standing alone has a level of value but when it is proven by demonstrating through an example of how this a was a success or backed up the hard skill the employer can see an overall picture of you working in his company. You either have the skill or you do not; an organized person is going to have more success at organizing a room or file cabinet or merchandise more than a person that is unorganized. Soft Skills are crucial to being successful to that certain task.
Soft Skills play a huge role in a candidates ability to sell their skill or the value of the skill however they need to give a scenario of how when and where they used the skill. The skill standing alone has a level of value but when it is proven by demonstrating through an example of how this a was a success or backed up the hard skill the employer can see an overall picture of you working in his company. You either have the skill or you do not; an organized person is going to have more success at organizing a room or file cabinet or merchandise more than a person that is unorganized. Soft Skills are crucial to being successful to that certain task.
Interviews these days are more of the situational type of questions. For example, "Please give me an example of when you had to work with an unruly employee." As you counsel your veterans, a good exercise to use may be a dry run . . . place them in the interview situation and pose the situational questions you think most employers will use. The veteran may be easily capable of identifying those specific situations that are applicable to the question, but they may need some help in "civilianizing" their answer. Just as we coach veterans to not sit at a modified position of attention, we also need to make sure the veteran is conversant in civilian terms about their leadership experience. The experience is usually sufficient, but the ability to talk about that experience to a person who may not have any military experience is usually the toughest part of the interview.
