Introduction to Soft Skills for Career Success. Why soft skills are important and the difference they make in a career.

1. SOFT SKILLS SERIES
Employability Skills that will set you up for Career Success
Oluwatoyin Puddicombe
Toyin Talks Talent

2. • I am an HR professional with over a decade of active work experience. I
have worked in Aviation, Business Services, Consulting, and Insurance,
gathering and acquiring skills and competences in Client Services,
Relationship Management and Human Capital Management with a strong
bias for Talent Acquisition and Development.
• I believe that our work is a platform for sharing our gifts with the world.
Unfortunately, a lot of young graduates underestimate themselves for
various reasons; the economy, wrong course choices, wrong career choices,
failure to plan their careers, multiple rejections and so on.
• I believe that each person is uniquely gifted by God to make their way in
the world using those gifts and I would like to help in discovering them
and finding fulfilling careers.
• This is the reason for Toyin Talks Talent.
Oluwatoyin Puddicombe
ACIPM, SPHRi, SHRM

3. Series Outline
Lesson 1.
Interpersonal Skills
Lesson 2.
Problem Solving
Lesson 3.
Listening Skills
Lesson 4.
Public Speaking
Lesson 5.
Business Etiquette

4. DEFINING SOFT SKILLS
Soft skills are a combination of skills that enable people to navigate their environment,
work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard
skills.
The Collins English Dictionary defines the term "soft skills" as "desirable qualities for
certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include
common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude."

5. In Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends
Report, 92% of respondents rated soft skills as a
critical priority.
A recent study in the UK
determined that “Soft Skills” are
worth £88bn ($186bn CDN) to
the UK economy. A business
group, including, believe it or not,
McDonalds is doing a three-
month study on how government
can introduce policies that will
help employees and employers
develop soft skills.
Whitehead 2020

6. A B
Which would you…
1. Prefer
2. Buy

7. About Soft Skills
◦ Soft skills are any skill or quality that can be
classified as a personality trait or habit.
◦ Soft skills are not about the knowledge you
possess but rather the behaviors you display in
different situations.
◦ Soft skills are typically innate, but they can be
learned, and they can be enhanced.

9. Soft Skills vs Hard
Skills
• Hard skills make an impression; soft skills leave
a legacy.
• Hard skills speak to why they want to hire you;
soft skills speak to why they should hire you.
• Hard skills can get you the interview; soft skills
can get you the job.
• Hard skills appeal to the head; soft skills appeal
to the heart.

10. Why are Soft
Skills
Important?
• Human interactions cannot
always be defined empirically.
• That two people were
exposed to the same scenarios
with the same factors does
not mean they will react in the
same way.
• Soft skills are the answers to
those indefinable
“somethings” that are deal
breakers in certain business
situations.

11. Which would you pick?
CANDIDATE A
◦ “Um . . . well . . . I have 15 years of experience
in the . . . uh . . . marketing industry, and in my
spare time I really enjoy showing dogs and
watching Dancing with the Stars.”
CANDIDATE B
◦ “I’m a branding and marketing specialist with 15
years of global experience at the executive level,
guiding high-growth specialty sporting goods
companies. I’ve been responsible for the
successful launch of several new products over
my career, including Product X and Product Y.”

12. Laying the right
Foundation
CHARACTER
• Values
• Experiences
• Personality
• Habits

13. Courtesy
Finish
what you
start
Give your
best
Social
Etiquette
Respect
others
Be a man
of your
word
Do to others
as you want
them to do to
you
Work hard.
Where it all
Begins

14. A habit is a routine of
behaviour that is repeated
regularly and tends to
occur subconsciously.
What are your habits? They
influence your actions.
Experiences are positive
and negative events that
have occurred in our lives
that shape our beliefs and
behaviour
Personality is the
characteristic patterns
of thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors that
make a person unique.
It is innate.
Values are basic and
fundamental beliefs that guide
or motivate attitudes or actions.
They help us to determine what
is important to us

15. SELF MASTERY AND THE
“EXCELLENCE” HABIT

16. Self
Mastery
Self mastery is often defined as
self-control, the ability to exert a
strong will against our impulses
to steer our future to one of our
choosing.
But this is only one aspect of the
term. Self mastery requires
having a vision for your future
self

17. What does “Excellence” mean to
you?

18. 3 Kinds of People
◦ 1. Those that do less: “I cannot come and go and kill myself”
geng.
◦ 2. Those that do just enough: Give them what they asked
for.
◦ 3. Those that do more: Get their attention.
Nadia Comăneci
World Champion
Winner of 5 Gold
medals

19. Defining Excellence
◦ “The quality of being outstanding or extremely good.”
◦ Sometimes, it’s not about being the best…
◦ It’s about being the MOST MEMORABLE

20. It starts with your
personal values

21. What are your values?
What standards do you set for
yourself?

23. • They are behaviour
• We work to maintain them
because of their
predictability (Comfort
Zone)
• They are automatic and
regular.
• They have triggers
• They are tough to change
without being intentional
Why are habits so
powerful?

24. ◦ Interview
• Coming late
• Not communicating with the recruiter
• Checking your phone during the
interview
• Not preparing for the interview
Sending Applications
• Send CV without writing anything in
the email body.
• Not reading over emails before sending.
• Not reading through the job ad for
proper guidance
Some Bad Habits
that affect your
career

25. • Coming late to work
• Doing the same unproductive
things and expecting a
different result.
• Doing less than or no more
than what you are expected
to do.
• Being afraid to fail.
On the Job
• Spending more time on your phone
than on the job.
• Not having a list of what to accomplish
each day.
• Complaining about your boss or the
company, or someone who performs
better than you do.
Bad Habits that
affect your career

26. How do you develop good habits
• Change starts in the MIND. Start with the end in mind.
• Self awareness/assessment. Be honest with yourself.
• Understand that you alone are responsible for your
growth.
• Commit to change
• Deal with one habit at a time, whether it is stopping a bad
one or starting a good one. Start small.
• Be consistent.
• Have an accountability partner

27. Know your triggers and
obstacles Create a plan. Break it
into steps. Write it down. Surround yourself with the
right people and things
Be Positive.
Be kind to yourself.
Celebrate small wins
Don’t be afraid to Fail
It’s part of the process.

28. A higher calling: the ultimate
motivation
◦ Your Personal Brand
◦ Your Legacy
◦ Your Faith

29. SOFT SKILLS FOR
CAREER EXCELLENCE

31. Interpersonal
Skills
Interpersonal skills are the
behaviors and tactics a person
uses to interact with others
effectively.
They are the skills require to
effectively communicate and
interact with individuals and
groups.
corporatefinanceinstitute.com

32. Interpersonal Skills…
◦ Help employees develop and foster strong working relationships with each other and with their
clients,
◦ Contribute to increasing team and organizational productivity
◦ Create an overall positive work environment.
◦ Greater employee satisfaction.
◦ Better decision-making.
◦ Make it easier to communicate difficult business decisions.
◦ Can foster a healthy workplace culture
◦ Can be used as a value proposition either individually or corporately.

33. Types of Interpersonal Skills
◦ Communication
◦ Conflict Management
◦ Empathy
◦ Leadership
◦ Listening
◦ Negotiation
◦ Positive Attitude
◦ Teamwork

34. Are interpersonal skills Taught or
Natural?

35. Communication
◦ The level of one’s interpersonal communication skills is measured through the effectiveness of
transferring messages to others.
◦ Communication has taken place when the message received by the receiver is the message intended by the
sender.

36. Personal
Communication
Communication is:
7% verbal
93% non-verbal

37. Real World Examples
◦ Application Process
◦ Sending only an attachment. No text in the body
of the email
◦ Leaving the ‘Subject” blank
◦ Writing in all Capital letters in your CV or other
written communication.
◦ Misspelled words.
◦ Wrong use of words
◦ Using ‘text speak’ in formal settings
◦ Being overfamiliar
◦ Resume that is too busy
◦ Listing work experience without elaborating on it.
◦ Incorrect expressions e.g. “I couldn’t agree less!”
◦ Interview Process
◦ Coming late for the interview
◦ Being unprepared
◦ Not communicating with the recruiter
◦ Not acknowledging emails sent to you
◦ Slouching in your chair
◦ Overfamiliarity
◦ Overconfidence
◦ Being Apologetic
◦ Being poorly dressed