THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFT SKILLS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
Soft skills are variously viewed as
communication skills, interpersonal skill and the ability to work with others. A more complex definition is “a range of abilities including work
ethic, courtesy, teamwork, self-discipline and self-confidence, professional
presence, language proficiency, cultural sensitivity, communication skills,
ability to accept and learn from criticism, ability to handle client
relationships, networking, creativity, ability to motive yourself and lead
others, time management, leadership and interpersonal skills”. The relative importance of each skill
varies by profession. In the IT Services industry, communication skills
(particularly listening skills), business communication skills, problem solving
skills and team skills are perceived as crucial.
In
today's demanding workplace, companies are requiring more from candidates than
knowledge and experience. Hence, soft skills are identified to be the most
critical skills in the current global job market. It is important as soft
skills enable an individual in a way to think critically, creatively, innovatively
and analytically. This involves
the ability to apply knowledge and understanding problems as well to solve
them.
"EQ" or "Emotional Intelligence
Quotient" which is the opposed to "IQ" is also part of soft
skill. EQ is the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication,
language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize
relationships with other people. So called “soft skills” are used to get short
shrift in the IT world.
Soft
skills are also important for effective performance in the workplace. Companies
need their employees to have not only domain knowledge, technical and
analytical skills, but also the skills to deal with the external world of
clients, customers, vendors, the government and public as well as to work in a
collaborative manner with their colleagues especially in the IT Services
Industry.
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