Soft Skills: If you don't have them, get some.

I can't begin to articulate how important it is for you to be a well-rounded job candidate.It has less to do with what you look like on paper than who you are as a person and coworker. Allow me to paint a picture for you.

You can have the best schools, the brainiest degree, hours of volunteer work and a 4.0 GPA on your lovely crisp resume. It'll get you through the doors. You'll find yourself sitting face-to-face with a potential employer as you silently congratulate yourself on your awesomeness. Ahh...the world is your oyster, is it not?

There's no better feeling in the world than to see your hard work come to fruition in that moment when you know you got it (the job, the internship, the lead role in the school play, what have you). But it all comes to a boil when you get down to the not-so-technical part of doing your job. Scholars and psychologists call it Emotional Intelligence. In the real world (a.k.a. Corporate America) - we like to call it 'Soft Skills'.

What are soft skills? I had no idea when my Management professor from Texas State educated me and 300 other Bobcats in an auditorium more than three years ago.
Soft skills draw the line between the employed and the unemployed. Statistically, a person is more likely to be fired for his lack of soft skills than for lack of knowing how to do his job. Examples: showing up to work on time every day, dressing appropriately, treating others with respect, knowing the difference between right and wrong, picking up on and practicing social cues and knowing when to filter.

Having worked with and met many young professionals, I've witnessed the miracle of watching a young college student bloom into a promising young professional. On the flip side, I've watched people hang themselves with their own rope because they lacked soft skills. Soft skills aren't really something that another person can teach you (remember the Emotional Intelligence part?).

I can teach you how to write in AP style. I can coach you on how to write a media advisory and build a PR plan. But I can't teach you to speak up, I can't dress you in the morning, and I certainly can't force you to come into work on time.

It's tricky isn't it? You can't buy soft skills. You have to be born with them. But there is hope! I often feel that soft skills are directly tied to a person's self-confidence.

I recommend this very concise entry in Wikipedia because it gives tips on improving your interpersonal skills: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_skills

My advice to those of you who are currently a part of an internship program or applying to one is to make yourself an asset and always show the best of yourself. Speak with confidence, ask appropriate questions, be positive, do your work with a happy heart and be professional in every sense. They won't forget you easily.

As Wiki states, soft skills "may be more important over the long term than technical skills". WOW. Right?

Think about that.