Far too often, job candidates focus on knowledge acquisition and fail to showcase their interpersonal skills—even though employers consistently rank soft skills at the top of their desired list (NACE, 2017). In fact, soft skills are often clearly listed on job descriptions. Let’s consider the role of the cover letter in the job application process, for example. It provides you with a strategic opportunity to not only showcase what you know, but how you interact with others.

You may highlight your successful leadership experience involving a range of interpersonal skills and the specific outcomes, demonstrating a clear relationship between your communication skills and results. In the same way, every day on the job provides you with opportunities for actions that showcase your soft skill set, how you manage problems, conflict, challenges, and opportunities. Learning how to market your soft skill set is an essential part of your professional success.

In this week’s second Discussion, you will explore soft skills in further detail and examine how the perception of soft skills influence either personal or professional success.

NACE. (2017). The key attributes employers seek on students’ resumes. Retrieved from https://www.naceweb.org/about-us/press/2017/the-ke…

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Read the Communication Program Discussion Guidelines.
• Read the article on Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills to understand what soft skills are.
• Read the article “Best Skills to List on Your Resume,” and then click through to find the skills specific to your industry or a desired job.
• Read through one of the job descriptions provided, or find a posting for a job in which you are or would be interested. Think about the soft skills that this job would need.

By Day 4

Post a response that addresses the following questions:

1. Include either a link to the job description, a Microsoft Word document of the job description, or a PDF of the job description.
2. Discuss 2–3 soft skills that would be important for this job. Be sure to give an example of how each skill would be used.
3. Assess how you perceive these soft skills influencing your personal or professional success?

Refer to the Week 1 Discussion Rubric 2 for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.