First impression is the last impression. Often this gets you to inch closer to your dreams or even earn the most coveted ticket to success. In a world of fierce, cut-throat competition, your report card is not just assessed on the basis of your high scores and top grades but what you have also achieved through your USP and X-factors. Reels, posts and minute-to-minute social media updates underline this image-building exercise, which from celebs to commoners, chase like the Holy Grail.
Yes, it’s soft skills that we are hinting at. Sometimes, our EQ (emotional quotient) stands us in good stead than our IQ (intelligence quotient) level.
Subtle skills
Understanding the value and importance of soft skills, many schools are involving students in group activity and hands-on experiences to instill people skills or personal attributes in them. This leads to their overall personality development.
Essential qualities like seamless communication, smooth coordination or teamwork, problem-solving ability, tactics of critical thinking, adaptability, time management, leadership, cognitive skills, smartness, alertness, promptness, awareness, creativity, etc., are nowadays taught in new-age academic institutions, either within the four walls of the classrooms or at outdoor assignments.
Education policy makers as well as industry watchers believe that soft skills can unlock significant worth in shaping students future if today the same is being incorporated in school and college syllabi as a learning module or in any professional course for tomorrow’s job seekers.
Domestic discipline
“A kid in its tender years is like a sponge, absorbing everything around him or her. Skills like empathy and emotional intelligence aren’t just tutored in schools; they are picked up via daily interactions at home,” states psychologist Dr. Malini Saba.
“Children watch and mimic the adults around them. So, the best way to teach these skills is by emerging as a perfect role model for them. Creating a warm, open environment where minors feel safe to express themselves without the fear of being judged helps them build confidence and mental resilience. Encouraging open conversations, listening to them with an undivided attention and giving them a constructive feedback, especially during group activities, always pay off. This enhances their capability to interact effectively and tackle tough situations,” adds Dr. Saba, who also doubles up as a human rights activist and is the founder of Anannke Foundation.
Workplace equations
If soothing words can move a rock and melt stones like butter, then honing soft skills like a secret weapon is a key criterion to survive in today’s pragmatic world of neck-to-neck rivalry.
“We may not be on the same page all the time but hitting a common path is crucial in interpersonal exchanges and during brainstorming sessions in office cubicles to generate a congenial atmosphere. This will help ensure navigate any hitches in the work environment. Unlike hard skills, which are technical or job-specific, soft skills like conflict resolution, decision-making and work ethics are more about synergy, collaboration and flexibility, which are indispensable to prosperity in workspaces as well as in personal life,” shares Dr Jaya Parekh, principal, Delhi Public School in Hinjawadi (suburban Pune).
Soft skills become a necessary pill for students to swallow as they go beyond just the arc of theoretical knowledge. How students harmonise with others plays a pivotal spoke in the wheel of their careers and lives.
“Organisational and managerial skills are vital for going a long way and transitioning one’s graph into a highflier. Apart from these core skills, integrity, strategic plotting, networking and professionalism are what makes a winner out of a nondescript portfolio. That’s why I believe, K-12 schools must attach more weightage to teaching such useful ingredients during a pupil’s foundational years. Thus, goals must be set earlier to aim higher in life,” suggests Sanamdeep Chadha, education reformist and director, Genesis Global School, Noida.
Social-emotional fabric
A clutch of modules should be incorporated in a school curriculum to help students develop and whet their soft skills, feel school authorities.
It is equally important to cultivate subtle skills that leave a deep, durable impact as it is to be academically brilliant to make an all-round development. Several schools are following the social-emotional learning (SEL) model that includes programmes to focus on compassion, responsiveness, fellow feelings and resistance power.
“These virtues consolidate a student’s ability to cement relationships, manage emotions, align with unpredictable situations and take the bull by the horns,” imparts Dr Parekh.
Realising the substantial value of soft skills to advance in life — both personally and career-wise — students also back the integration of soft-skill oriented subjects in educational institutes.
“Growing up, I always believed that fetching outstanding grades in academics and acquiring technical skills would be enough to succeed. But when I got to college, I quickly fathomed that success cannot be equated with just knowing the material. It’s how you connect, join forces and put across your views emphatically is what makes a real difference,” elucidates Alika Mirza, final-year management and law student from Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow.
The real you
Image consultants and psychoanalysts counsel hopeful candidates to be smart in their approach as well as appearance wise at a job interview, plus maintain a certain image to impress the panel of interviewers or their prospective bosses at first sight.
“The way you present yourself right from your outfit to your body language can shape how your interviewers perceive you. But it’s not all about dressing well or adhering to the formal attire code. The bottom line is how well you can exhibit professionalism, confidence and attention to detail,” clarifies Dr. Saba.
Authenticity is another aspect that employers look for in future employees. They appreciate someone who is well-prepared and polished but at the same time, they want to see the real you. “The key is to strike a balance. Dress appropriately for the job, carry yourself with self-faith, and be mindful of your energy and tone,” she deduces.
Communication is just as crucial. “The way you answer questions, listen, and engage in conversation says a lot about you. It’s not just about what you say but how you put it. Candidates who come across as engaged, thoughtful and respectful tend to leave a stronger impression than those who are overly confident or completely passive,” comments Dr. Saba.
Ultimately, making a good first impression isn’t about pretending to be someone that you are not. Rather it’s about presenting the best version of yourself in a way that aligns with the professional world.
PR ploys
It’s true that PR skills, the art of persuasion and convincing one’s clients are considered crucial in the service industry, more so in hotels, aviation and public relations jobs.
“The job profile of a PR is required to act like a bridge between a brand and its audience. In an arena where every interaction breeds customer’s loyalty, the art of inducement and coaxing isn’t just a skill, it’s a lifeline like oxygen. For example, when a traveller chooses an airline, they’re not just buying a ticket but also trusting the respective brand to deliver safety, comfort and reliability. PR steps in to turn that trust into lasting relationships,” explains senior PR professional Pooja Pathak.
Years of experience can transform perceptions, build trust and redefine a company’s growth trajectory, especially with prompt responses and judicious actions taken during a crisis, be it in the form of a well-timed story or a thoughtful move.
“At our agency, we focus on balancing facts with empathy, turning challenges into opportunities and stress on building connections that matter,” recollects the PR head, who is the founder director of Media Mantra Group.
Pep talk
Dispensing his tips to job aspirants, Firoz Thairinil, founder and CEO, UniAthena, an online professional learning platform, says: “In today’s competitive job scenario, technical expertise alone can’t suffice. It needs to be propped up by a plethora of soft skills, crucial for an individual’s long-term growth. These enable professionals to get inducted in a multi-cultural global workforce.”
In an unstable job market, where one is hired to be fired, nothing comes easy and permanently on the plate. Everything gets tagged with a price to cough up. With industries being completely transformed by growth-engines like automation and AI, soft skills can safely be dubbed irreplaceable. “While technical skills may help one secure a job, soft skills will indicate how well an individual coalesces with teams, leads projects and builds robust associations,” he confirms.
