In a tight job market such as this, it can be hard for anyone who’s looking for work. The prospect of finding a job can be especially difficult if you’re receiving Social Security disability benefits , and you haven’t worked in a while. It can make a big difference, however, if you know what employers are looking for before filling out an application or submitting a resume. One way to get ahead of the competition is to perfect your soft skills. Here are some things you should know about the importance of soft skills in the workplace.
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are the skills that determine how you work and how you relate to your fellow employees. These can involve any number of things, such as your interpersonal skills, your effectiveness at managing your time, your listening skills, and even your ability to empathize with others. These can be difficult to identify and quantify, but employers look for soft skills because they can indicate an employee’s dependability, creativity, and work ethic. Furthermore, soft skills are the kinds of abilities that an employee can take with them regardless of their position within the company.
The Value of Teamwork
While employers are always looking for certain talents from job applicants—such as proficiency with a particular software program—one of the skills they stress time and again is the importance of finding employees who know how to work effectively as part of a team. Employers want to know if you can collaborate on a project and if you appreciate the value of joining forces with others to get the job done. Social Security Ticket to Work employment networks work with companies who emphasize teamwork when considering job applicants, so it’s to your advantage that you hone your own abilities when it comes to teamwork.
Minimizing Risk
Risk management is a priority for every business. A lack of self-awareness and a failure to report problems as they occur can result in mistakes that have a spiraling effect on an organization. Employees with strong soft skills are more likely to follow protocols and adapt to new policies, preventing unnecessary risks. Furthermore, these kinds of people are better suited to make decisions on the fly, and to communicate issues with their superiors should they spot an issue that needs to be addressed.
A Boon to Customer Service
The same soft skills that lead to better teamwork can be applied to customer relations as well. Employees who are good at listening to and empathizing with others will treat customers with the attention and respect that they’re looking for. By treating a customer’s complaint with the seriousness it deserves, an employee who has well-developed soft skills will be better at identifying and solving problems as they become aware of them. This will aid in improving customer satisfaction and can help with sales as well. Customers who feel a salesperson is taking their needs into consideration won’t feel like they’re being pressured by an employee who’s merely looking to make a hard sell.
When you’re ready to re-enter the job market, reach out to DisABLEd Workers. We can provide you with the assistance that only the best Social Security employment networks can. If you have any questions, give us a call today at (877) 291-9806.