Do You Have What It Takes? Five Soft Skills That You Need In 2020 With the ever-changing nature of the business world, it is absolutely essential to be malleable enough to adapt to the professional conditions around you.
By May Rostom •
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Did you know that there are at least 50,000 professional skills in the world? According to LinkedIn, there are 50,000 things you can learn and add to your hard/ soft skill set to stand out. With the ever-changing nature of the business world, it is absolutely essential to be malleable enough to adapt to the professional conditions around you. While January, at the beginning of the year, is always a good time to start, February is not so bad either. Here are the most prevalent soft skills you need to learn this year, according to LinkedIn:
1. CREATIVITY Almost every recruiter now is looking to hire someone who is creative. Along with experience and academic qualifications, organizations are scouting for people who can breathe fresh air into the business and offer better solutions to existing problems.
2. PERSUASION Some people are just born with it. If you're lucky enough to be a highly persuasive person, you probably would have a higher chance of getting hired than someone who's not. Whether you're negotiating higher pay or pitching a new proposal to stakeholders, your ability to persuade colleagues, peers and senior leaders plays a significant role in achieving success.
3. COLLABORATION How many times have you read the words "team player" in a job description brief? Many, right? With the high rate of redundancy and downsizing in tough economic conditions, more than ever before, companies have realized the importance of having a collaborative workforce that all works towards the same goal: pushing the company forward.
4. ADAPTABILITY Does the idea of change unsettle you? Do you wake up each morning, ready to take on the day, come what may? If you answered no to both these questions, being flexible should be on top of your list of things to learn this year. Adaptability is the personality trait that helps determine how you respond to change. People with high adaptability are often described as "flexible," team players," or as someone who "goes with the flow."
5. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE No one likes a co-worker who is apathetic or selfish or careless towards other people's feelings. Being emotionally intelligent gives you the capacity to understand and manage emotions, in and out of the workplace. Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills are all necessary to create a pleasant working environment that inspires success. Embracing the nuances of human emotion in the workplace can have pragmatic benefits, such as better collaboration among employees and a happier workplace.
