YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A volunteer teaching a soft skills program through Junior Achievement walks into a classroom with disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes.
“She just didn’t look professional,” says Joanna Feathers, program manager at Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio. That volunteer’s goal was to let the students recognize a key soft skill and give her some pointers for improving her look before going to her job.
The importance of soft skills – or interpersonal skills that influence interaction – to career achievement has been documented since at least a 1918 study by the Carnegie Foundation, “A Study of Engineering Education.” That study followed by others indicated that 85% of job success comes from well-developed soft skills and people skills, according to The National Soft Skills Association.
What are employers looking for?
Caress Witherspoon, the incoming president of the Western Reserve Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management, lists communication, the ability to clearly express your ideas and actively listen, as the top soft skill employers are seeking.
She says additionally, emotional intelligence, which is the ability to understand and regulate emotions and have empathy for others, is another sought-after skill as is flexibility in changing environments, especially with the advent of AI and new technology.
“After Covid, it was a huge point for people to understand and realize you have to be adaptable. … You have to be able to pivot when things happen, be open to new tools that come with different tasks,” Witherspoon says.
Another soft skill can be collaboration and teamwork, including managing conflict in a professional way and contributing to shared goals.
Finally, she suggests problem-solving and critical thinking are valuable skills, as well as dependability, which includes a good work ethic, maintaining professionalism, time management and prioritizing your tasks.
“In the war for talent, while many employees have these skills, it’s challenging to fill all the roles,” Witherspoon says.
A student or an employee who knows they might be lacking in some skills should be transparent and open to working to better develop those skills with a mentor or a coach, Witherspoon says.
Programs for children through adulthood have been created to help those who need soft skills improvement.
“Much of what we stand behind in the college are the skill sets students need … and can understand so they are successful as they move into that full-time job,” says Christina O’Connell, the executive director of the Center for Career Management at Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration.
Junior Achievement Programs
One Junior Achievement program starts as young as kindergarten through fifth grade, introducing young people to soft skills, as well as work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
By middle school and high school, JA programs are more specific. The main soft skills program recommended for ninth or 10th graders includes simple and basic lessons, providing those skills needed to land a job, like résumé writing, filling out an application and interviewing, Feathers says.
It also develops skills required to keep a job, including basic manners and professional communication in both speaking and writing. Feathers emphasizes workplace writing, grammar, punctuation and spelling are important. And when speaking to a boss, colleague or customer, it is not just what you say, it is how you say it. The program addresses voice and tone, as well as appropriate cell phone use and certain topics that shouldn’t be discussed at work.
“Cellphones are such a big deal nowadays,” Feathers says. “I mean we all have them and we all use them a lot, but there is an appropriate time and place.”
Additionally, Feathers says one program helps middle schoolers take a hard look about their “brand,” what they post on social media and how that can look to others, including potential future employers.
Junior Achievement takes the study of soft skills even further in another program for 10th and 11th graders called Career Success, teaching students what to expect during onboarding, handbooks, organizational hierarchy, collaborating, teamwork, conflict resolution and workplace creativity.
Whether it is directly from the effects of the Covid pandemic lockdowns or increased technology use in general, Feathers says students are definitely struggling with soft skills and relating to the people around them. She sees middle schoolers hanging out with their friends, but everyone is on their phones.
“That’s a problem socially,” Feathers says. “They need to learn to interact with one another and even deal with difficult situations, resolve conflict in a healthy manner, and then that obviously translates over to the workplace… If they’re dealing with customers, customer service, they have to be able to interact face to face and in an appropriate professional manner.”
Soft skills programs, like the ones through Junior Achievement, help young people walk through some of those difficult situations and think ahead about how to react, how to resolve conflict and how to talk to their boss and colleagues.
YSU Programs
But the need to improve soft skills does not end in high school. At YSU’s WCBA, students are learning to take those skills to the next level. And the school focuses on what local employers are looking for in next-generation employees.
O’Connell says the program aligns with the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ annual survey. Employers are asked about some of the top skills they are looking for in future employees, which may includes YSU interns and graduates.
O’Connell says the survey shows employers seek eight skills and communication, teamwork and leadership skills top the list. She adds employers want critical thinking, someone capable of taking an active role as an employee, someone able to come up with solutions and capable of sharing their ideas.
“I always tell students that employers don’t expect you to have every answer, but they want you to start thinking,” O’Connell says. “And as you approach them with questions, you have a solution in mind of how you can solve it.”
She also believes it is important students learn to speak with someone directly and not just send emails back and forth.
When evaluating a YSU student at the end of an internship, O’Connell says employers are asked questions geared at learning what skills the student has and where they still need some polishing. Those questions include soft skills and give the student time to develop their skills further before seeking their first career job.
Many of the upper-level classes at the business college include a focus on communication, making presentations, leadership and teamwork. Additionally, O’Connell says many organizations affiliated with YSU or the business college invite speakers for events like the Professional Development Summit. Organizations get students volunteering in the community, where they can work on their soft skills and networking opportunities with YSU alumni and the community at large.
Meet the Employer career fairs are encouraged long before the student is seeking an internship or job, letting them begin to build their network and give them practice talking to employers.
Soft skills and networking can set them apart from the rest of the field that graduated from the same program, O’Connell says.
“They want the student to have the expertise, but the next step is to also have those soft skills, so you can stand out amongst applicants when you’re interviewing,” O’Connell says. “So, you are able to showcase both your résumé and your answers. You can show you’re a good communicator, you are a good leader, you can think on your own and come up with answers and solutions and then also know when to ask questions when you need guidance.”
And the 2024 NACE survey shows young people want to keep learning.
Nearly 65% of recent college graduates value an employer who continues to develop their applied skills, including communication, leadership and teamwork, it found.