Hey! Welcome back, if you found the previous episode helpful or Hello! If you are a direct guest to Episode 2. Soft Skills for Career Success Insights by EJ is a 7 episode series that aims to guide an employee or job seeker on how to be distinguished from the rest.
The phrase soft skills incorporate a wide variety of personality traits, communication, people skill, social attitudes and emotional intelligence. These qualities also known as ‘core skills’ are increasingly important for success in the Workplace – and not just for those in Leadership positions.
So quickly, what are Soft skills and why are they important? Well, when you apply for a job there’s always a list of skills or qualifications that employers want you to have to show you’ve got the right experience. But there are also some invisible skills, things that they don’t always put on the list and these invisible or soft skills could be the key to your success to getting the job and succeeding at it. Let me simplify this, it is more about the way that you work not just what you can do but how you go about doing it.
Let’s pronto learn the second top required skill, Critical Thinking that employers seek for.
Everyday a sea of decisions stretches before us. Some are small and unimportant but others have a larger impact. We are bombarded with so many decisions that it is impossible to make perfect choices every time but, there are many ways to improve our chances and one particular effective technique is critical thinking. This is a way of approaching a question that allows us to carefully deconstruct a situation, reveal its hidden issues and help us make reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought of.
Let’s look at what critical thinking skills involves
Observation- The ability to notice and predict opportunities, problems and solution.
Analyse- The gathering, understanding and interpretation of data and other information.
Inference- Drawing conclusions based on relevant data, information and personal knowledge and experience.
Here are 5 Science based strategies for Critical thinking
- Challenge all assumptions
- Suspend Judgement
- Revising conclusion based on new evidence
- Emphasizing data over beliefs
- The never-ending testing of ideas.
If the critical part sounds negative, that is because in a way it is, rather than choosing an answer because it feels right, a person who uses critical thinking subjects all available options to scrutiny and scepticism. Using these tools at their disposal will eliminate everything but the most useful and reliable information.
There are many ways of approaching critical thinking but here’s one 5 step process to help you with, succinctly.
Step 1 Formulate your question:
Know what you’re looking for cause’ this isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds but it helps you approach the situation with a clear view of what you are actually trying to accomplish.
Step 2 Gather your information:
There’s lots of it out there, so having a clear idea of your question will help you with what’s relevant. Information gathering helps you weigh different options to moving you closer to a decision that meets your goal.
Step 3 Apply the Information:
Something you do by asking critical questions. “Facing a decision, ask yourself, “What concepts are at work?”, “What assumptions exist?” “Is my inspiration of the information logically sound?”
Step 4 Consider the Implications:
It is vital to infer information that is not explicitly stated because that is what will lead us to drawing conclusions.
Step 5 Explore other points of view
Exploring the full spectrum of viewpoints might explain why some policies that don’t seem valid to you appeal to others. This will allow you to explore alternatives, evaluate your own choices and ultimately help you make more informed decisions.
So if you are a job candidate looking to land the perfect job? Or an employee aiming to climb the next ring on your career ladder, developing your critical thinking skills will make you a better candidate for that new job or that promotion. Also I’m certain these series are your perfect guide for your career success. Stay tuned for the episode 3.
See you on the other side of the click, super soon.
Eucharista Joseph
BD | MyOSin