ROLE OF SOFT SKILLS IN ENGINEERING CAREER

      HR officials and Interviewers of the renowned Organisations, ask the candidates, this most common question: what value will you add to your organisation other than your job oriented skills and knowledge? They expect the answer which enlightens the soft skills of the candidate.

       What are Soft skills ( SS) then?

According to Naresh Naresimhan of Tectronix–

1) ability to communicate an idea visually,

2) ability to have balanced point of view on key issues and

3) ability to convert ideas into result and is not only plain communication but also the people skills.

     In the broader context, SS would also include negotiation, decision making, reasoning and problem solving, and conflict resolution skills required in the working environment.

Intangible skills such as language proficiency ability to work with global teams and positive attitude form the basis of career development in addition to technical skills, personality and the problem solving techniques. These are termed or known as soft skills.

Soft skills are non technical, interpersonal, and communication skills required by an engineer, to solve problems and apply his technical skills.

Rajesh Choudhary HR head, Xilinx India says, “Personality traits such as common sense, optimism, responsibility, Integrity, attitude & behavioural competencies that include, analytical thinking, result orientation and achievement, communication, team work, conflict management, customer orientation and attention to details come under soft skills.

Zulin Rashid, Head of Training ZR India believes that just as hard skills teach us about domain specific skills like technology, products and processes, soft skills make us know the interaction with people with whom we work. Soft skills can also refer to a set of skills that determine how one interacts with others and work for the growth of the company.

Simply put, Tina VAS, Vice President of Collabera, says, “soft skills have more to do with what we are than what we know”.

Engineering Graduates and Soft Skills :

In India, 56% of Engg. Graduates lack the SS. and cognitive skills. They don't understand that 1) non technical aspects of Engineering such as communications, relationships, temperament, emotional intelligence and risk management, make the difference between success and failure, and 2) that Engineering is more an economic and most importantly a human activity rather than a technical activity.

Recent soft skill survey by Electronics For You team shows that 62.63% respondents believed that SS were important but are not the deciding factor, 25-29 believed that SS were extremely important, remaining 12.08% believed that these were important as complimentary skills.

Here is the list of most desirable SS that HR heads of various companies look for :-

1. Interpersonal skills such as communication (both verbal and written, including email etiquette), Persuation, Presentation and active listening and learning.

2. Good attitude with respect for the job at hand.

3. Desire/Passion to share and be trained consistently.

4. Able to confront reality

5. Problem solving and decision making.

6. Honesty, Integrity and uncompromising Ethics.

7. Time management and stress management skills.

8. Flexibility to work in a team which has diverse background

9. Positive approach and initiative.

10. Application of knowledge without fear.

How to improve Soft skills :

1. Reading extensively, the available books written by professionals in the market on communication skills, qualities of good team member/leader, ways to improve relationship with people.

2. Practice what is studied. Without practice, knowledge gained is of no use.

3. Third step is to continue doing the practices relentlessly.

    In addition to your Engineering skills practice soft skills which the company expects, and be a successful engineer.

(Excerpts from the Magazine Electronics For You- By Mr. Abhishek Mutha)