Enhance your soft skills. They can be the key to your success.
Moving ahead in the workplace and advancing your career takes a lot of work. Since sitting back and waiting for things to happen on their own would not do you any good, you need to take the initiative to increase your chances of moving up the corporate ladder.
Why do some people get employed or advance more easily than their peers? Numerous studies indicate that this might not have anything to do with a person?s qualifications and technical expertise but with the way he or she works with others.
Until recently, employers were only looking at hard skills (abilities, training and specific skills set) when hiring or promoting employees. However, after numerous studies showed how soft skills can affect job performance, most employers and HR managers started giving more weight to a candidate?s emotional intelligence.
Soft Skills for Career Advancement: Which Skills Should You Develop to Ensure Success?
To increase your chances of bagging that promotion, consider the following suggestions.
- Develop a champion mentality. Employees who have the ability to stay positive and optimistic despite the odds are an asset to every organization. Keep in mind that no one wants to be around someone who sees the worst in everything so try to look at the bright side.
- Learn to welcome challenge. Most people tend to shy away from responsibilities and delegate them to others. Don?t do this. Learn to embrace every new challenge that comes your way, and see them as opportunities that can help you grow. Take the initiative, prove yourself and stand out from the rest.?
- Enhance communication skills. Most employers are looking for employees who can listen, speak, and write effectively. Thus, employees who allow others to be heard and effectively convey information verbally and in writing are a step closer to achieving their career goals.
- Develop your self-confidence. Having confidence in yourself, your work and your career plan makes people believe that you are capable of delivering results. It also makes it easier for people to trust you and see you as a leader.
- Be more flexible. Being flexible does not mean that you have to work all night and forget weekends altogether. It simply means that you have to be more flexible to meet the demands of the organization.
- Learn to appreciate feedback. People who quickly move up the corporate ladder are usually very coachable and take feedback constructively.
- Be a better negotiator. If you really want to get ahead of the competition, you need to master the art of negotiation. Learn how to create win-win situations in the workplace and make all the people involved feel great about the results.
There is still a long list of soft skills that can help you move ahead in the workplace but these can help you get noticed and increase your chances of getting the promotion you deserve.
