Master's degree "Accounting, Financial and Tax Engineering"

Module:” Business English”

Theme under name:

Soft skills

Prepare by:
El Azhari Yousra
El Youssafi Soukaina
Khaoula Khalifi
Nahas Aya

Outline:
Introduction

A. General information on soft skills

1. Definition of soft skills
2. Difference between hard and soft skills
3. Importance of soft skills
B. Types of soft skills
1. Personnel skills (Resilience; Responsibility; Confidence; Self-discipline)
2. Social skills (Integrability ; Ability to communicate well; Ability to receive
criticism)
3. Methodical skills (Analytical skills ; Problem-solving skills; Stress resistance)
C. Practical part

Conclusion
Introduction to Soft Skills:

Soft skills play an important role for achieving professional growth and employment.
With the knowledge of soft skills, one stands out in a crowd of job seekers with even
mediocre skill and talent. There is no doubt that hard skills i.e., knowledge and technical
expertise are prime requirement, for employability but without soft skills it becomes difficult
for even highly talented people to corner a job. The most common traits asked by every
prospective employer are positive work ethics, good attitude, and desire to learn and be
trained.

Good attitude being a behavioural skill cannot be taught. But consistent practice and
training can instill that in a person. Right perspective and readiness to learn and turn the
situation to a positive outcome, take responsibility of one ‘s action with the capacity to take
any challenge, so the job seekers must possess soft skill to attract the employer.

In today's dynamic and interconnected professional landscape, the importance of soft

skills has gained significant recognition. However, there remains a noticeable gap between the
soft skills acquired through education and the specific demands of the workplace. This raises
the question of how to effectively bridge this gap and equip individuals with the soft skills
necessary for success in their careers?

These problematic addresses the challenge of aligning educational systems and

curricula with the evolving needs and expectations of the modern workplace. It explores the
factors contributing to the gap between the soft skills acquired through education and those
sought after by employers. Additionally, it examines the potential strategies, interventions,
and collaborations required to close this gap and ensure that individuals are adequately
prepared with the relevant soft skills to thrive in their professional lives.

By exploring this problematic, we can delve into the effectiveness of current

educational practices in developing soft skills, identify areas for improvement, and propose
innovative approaches to bridge the gap between education and workplace demands.
 1. General information on soft skills:

A. Definition of soft skills:

Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, career
prospects and job performance. Unlike hard skills, which tend to be specific to a certain type
of task or activity, soft skills are broadly applicable. Soft skills are personal attributes that
describe an individual's ability to interact with others. Soft skills, also known as people skills,
complement hard skills to enhance an individual's relationships, job performance and career
prospects. Soft skills differ from field to field, mostly due to different career attributes
requirement though the basic people and social skills remain the same. Soft skills are the basic
requirement for today's employability.

Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills,

communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence
quotient (EQ) among others. Technical knowledge of any subject is considered hard skill. Soft
skills are also called corporate skills. Soft skills can be more useful and practical. A definition
based on review literature explains soft skills as a cluster of productive personality traits that
characterize one's relationships in a social environment with other people and the key three
abilities/elements are people skills, social skills and personal career attributes, in other words
social skills is an umbrella term for skills under these functional elements.

Soft skills are related with insights, emotions, feelings, gut-instinct and (some would
say) an inner knowing. Because of this they are not taught passively as in the way of "hard
skills". Hence soft skills are associated with EQ (Emotional Quotient) and EI (Emotional
Intelligence) rather than with IQ.

Soft skills can be said to incorporate all aspects of generic skills that include the
cognitive elements associated with non-academic skills. Soft skills are identified to be the
most critical skills in the current global job market especially in a fast moved era of
technology. The reorientation of education which is one trust of education for sustainability
also relates the importance of these so-called - soft skills.
 B. Difference between soft skills and hard skills:
To put it simply, the main differences between hard skills and soft skills are how you
obtain them and how you apply them in the workplace. 
Hard skills are usually obtained through hands-on experience or education. On the
other hand, soft skills are more akin to personality traits that you have naturally developed
throughout your life. 
For example, a hard skill would be typing. No one is born with the instinct to type.
Rather, it has to be learned over time, usually through some type of schooling or education. 
Soft skills are more interpersonal than technical. For example, a soft skill would
be time management or relationship-building. Soft skills are typically something that you find
yourself naturally good at, without having to learn it through education or hands-on
training. However, you can still improve your soft skills, just as you can improve your hard
skills. 
Certain hard skills will be a prerequisite for a job. Again, look at the example of
typing. This skill is very important if you’re an administrative assistant or copywriter.
However, typing is less important if you’re a landscaper or a chef.
Certain soft skills are necessary for most jobs. Look at the examples of time
management and relationship-building. The vast majority of jobs require employees to
manage their time well. However, not all roles require strong relationship-building skills.
Hard skills are easier to quantify than soft skills, but both are important. 
When you understand the difference between hard skills and soft skills, then you can
determine which skills to highlight on your resume or in an interview.
 C. Importance of Soft Skills:

Soft skills are the skills concerned with working with other people, ensuring
customer satisfaction, being a team player while delivering a high-quality product within
budget and on time, and exceeding the expectations of stakeholders.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are subjective skills that are much harder to quantify.
Also known as "people skills" or "interpersonal skills," soft skills relate to the way you
relate to and interact with other people.

During our childhood days our parents probably correct us if behave in a rude or
harsh way with our friends or siblings. But if in workplace under similar situation no one
will be there to correct us and the ultimate consequence will be fired off from the
organization. There is a significant difference in the perception of soft skills for a student
and an employer. Instructors teach the skills students need to get and keep a job, while
employers are more concerned with the skills needed to perform the task at hand.

 Hard skills and soft skills are both important skills to have in the working world.
 Employers need employees who are reliable, responsible problem solvers with
good social skills who have the ability to work on a team so they seek graduates
with soft skills obtained during study and work experience rather than degree-
specific knowledge and often opt to hire graduates from any discipline.
 Soft skills are essential for those entering the working world because these
workers are the business leaders of the future. Business leaders must obtain soft
skills as well as hard skills in order to be viewed as effective leaders.
 The skills most demanded by today ‘s employers are soft skills such as the ability
to work with others, to communicate effectively, to demonstrate initiative and
self-direction, to solve problems, and to demonstrate a positive work ethic.

Soft skills are very important as they help:

 To handle interpersonal relations

 To take appropriate decisions
 To communicate effectively
 To have good impression and impact to gain professional development.
 Soft skills describe career attributes that individuals should possess, such as team
skills, communication skills, ethics, time-management skills, and an appreciation for
diversity. In the twenty-first century workforce, soft skills are important in every business
sector. However, employers in business continuously report that new employees are
deficient in these soft skills.

Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person's
relationships with other people. In the workplace, soft skills are considered a complement
to hard skills, which refer to a person's knowledge and occupational skills. Sociologists
may use the term soft skills to describe a person's "EQ" or ―Emotional Intelligence
Quotient," as opposed to "IQ" or "Intelligence Quotient."

2. Types of soft skills:

While it’s difficult to come up with a universal soft skills definition, you can think of them as
skills that are not tied to one specific job; they’re general characteristics that help employees
thrive in the workplace, no matter their seniority level, role or industry. They’re often called
transferable skills or interpersonal skills.
Here are 3 types of soft skills that are essential traits among employees:

A. Personal skills:
Definition:
Personal skills, called interpersonal or people skills, are a type of soft skills related to how a
person interacts with other people and the surrounding environment.
Personal skills are intangible skills or abilities that help you interact positively with others.
Personal skills are unquantifiable and can positively impact your work ethic to help you
develop strong relationships with colleagues and customers.

If by personnel skills you are referring to skills related to managing people or human
resources, some of the most important personnel skills include:
 Communication skills:
Communication is an important soft skill since it helps you share and receive messages
efficiently. Many job roles require strong verbal communication skills for effective interaction
with customers, colleagues or management. Communication skills can also help you express
your ideas and cultivate strong working relationships. They help you simplify complex topics,
so you can successfully convey your meaning to others.
 Creativity:
Creativity is a broad ability incorporating many different skill sets, including other soft skills
and technical skills. Employees with creativity can find new ways to perform tasks, improve
processes or even develop new and exciting avenues for the business to explore. Creativity
can be used in any role at any level.
 Work ethic :
Work ethic is the ability to follow through on tasks and duties in a timely, quality manner. A
strong work ethic will help ensure you develop a positive relationship with your employer and
with colleagues, even when you’re still developing technical skills
in a new job. Many employers would rather work with someone who has a strong work ethic
and is eager to learn than a skilled worker who seems unmotivated.
  Skills in management and organization
Organizational and management skills are vital personal qualities needed in the majority but
not all positions.
Studies have shown that the majority of projects fail because of poor management. Well-
planned management of resources, time, and focus, can do wonders at work and ensure that
most activities, projects, and companies succeed.
 Responsibilities

The most important thing to be a reliable employee is to show consistently on time each day.
Being reliable, however, is about being someone who individuals (co-workers or customers)
can rely on for assistance in any circumstance.

It’s about being aware of what’s expected from you and taking responsibility for what you do,
even when you make an error. Resilience and dependability are the most sought-after traits
which make for a great employee.

 Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the process of using the analytical view to solve problems. A strong
critical mind not only aids you in performing your assigned task efficiently but can also help
you come up with more efficient ways to complete any assignment, current and in the future.

A critical thinker can help the business grow, evolve to change, and grow, and is essential in
every position in any industry.

B. Social skills :

Social skills are used to communicate with others daily in a variety of ways including verbal,
nonverbal, written and visual. Social skills are also referred to as “interpersonal” or “soft
skills.”

Verbal skills involve the spoken language, while nonverbal communication includes body

language, facial expressions and eye contact. Any time you interact with another person,
you’re using social skills in some way. Strong social skills can help you build and maintain
successful relationships professionally and personally.

Types of social skills:

 Empathy
Being empathetic means that you can put yourself in your colleagues’ shoes – whether it be in
the event of success or failure. Your social intuition also enables you to
react sensitively and respectfully to certain situations. Some external or personal factors may
also have an impact on your work. If, for example, an employee’s performance isn’t up to
scratch because they are going through a tough time in their private life, show understanding.
Empathy in the workplace helps you stay human in difficult situations.

 Integrability

Social structures are often difficult to break down. When you start a new job however, you
don’t have to try too hard to integrate yourself into the existing social groups and help them
flourish. You do not remain the “new” person for long, but manage to become an independent
part of the social group in the workplace. Colleagues quickly turn into acquaintances or even
friends. Integration does not mean merely complying with the prevailing conventions.
Capable of integrating well, you manage to help shape the environment. You will quickly
become an essential part of the social construct.

 Ability to communicate well

The ability to communicate well is one of the most important skills in many companies. As a
communication expert, it’s easy for you to formulate your thoughts concisely and to be
a suitable conversation partner. This often also extends to digital platforms on which you
maintain a pleasant tone (e.g. in chat or by e-mail). You will also be able to correctly interpret
signals and understand instructions. You can also communicate any concerns you have
confidently and this skill will more than likely be put to the test during your interview.

 Ability to accept criticism

You have the (quite rare) ability to deal well with any criticism you may receive. This means
that you neither react impulsively nor emotionally to it, but use the input to improve yourself.
Criticism often hits people unprepared and harms their self-confidence – they feel attacked
and are pushed out of their comfort zone. However, criticism usually has a justified origin;
those who know how to deal with it and use it constructively will tend to advance quicker.

 Knowledge of human nature

Knowledge of human nature is a rather vague term. At its core, it describes the ability
to assess people as correctly as possible based on some indicators. At the same time, you
anticipate the actions and reactions of others very accurately. This ability is extremely
practical in everyday life. Knowing a lot about human nature is particularly advantageous in
professional fields where you work directly with customers, patients or clients.

 Team player

Working in a team is the main feature of many workplaces. As a team player, you can deal
with dividing tasks, group communication, authority, and many other aspects that are
important when working with other people. It is easy for you to get involved. The ability to
work in a team also requires you to make profitable use of other social skills. People who are
able to work in a team usually carry a wide range of soft skills that will help them in every
workplace. In the modern world of work, the ability to work in a team is one of the most
frequently desired skills for which applicants are consciously tested.

 Interaction ability

This is the way you interact with people. There are people who often joke and thus create a
relaxed atmosphere, but who sometimes run the risk of not being taken seriously. On the other
hand, there are people who act very seriously in the workplace and attach great importance to
goal-oriented communication.

A “good” style of interaction is being in the middle of this spectrum. You should appear
competent and reliable without being considered boring or uptight. Your interacting style
influences your effect on other people to a large extent.

Effects of Good Social Skills:

With a full repertoire of social skills, students will have the ability to make social

choices that will strengthen their interpersonal relationships and facilitate success in

school. Some consequences of good social skills include:

 Positive and safe school environment.

 Child flexibility in the face of future crises or other stressful life events.
Consequences of Poor Social Skills:
Students with poor social skills:

 Experience difficulties in interpersonal relationships with parents, teachers, and

peers.
 Rejection. Peer rejection has been linked on several occasions school violence.
 Show signs of depression, aggression and anxiety.
 Demonstrate poor academic performance as an indirect consequence.
 Show a higher incidence of involvement in the criminal justice system as adults.

To improve social skills:

 Improve your emotional intelligence
 Look inwards
 Practice effective communication skills
 Fake it ‘till you make it
 Ask more than you speak
 Give compliments
 Be polite
 Read the news
 Start small

The building blocks necessary to develop social communication:

Figure: Structural model of social skill components:
Self-awareness abilities

Self-evaluation abilities

Social sensitivity Emotional expressiveness

abilities abilities

Decision-making Self-control abilities

abilities
 Emotional sensitivity abilities

Skills of social cognition Emotional skills

Structure of
Communication skills social skills Participation skills

Interaction skills
Verbal contact abilities

Non verbal contact abilities

v Group activity abilities
Interrelation abilities
Abilities for interactions
Social expressiveness abilities management and control

Flexibility ;adaptability
abilities

Conflict resolution abilities

The different domains of an individual's social functioning are interrelated components of

social skills, such as interaction, communication, participation, emotional and social cognition
skills. Therefore, from a system theory perspective, progress in one area of social skills has an
effect on other areas of social skills.

Social skills structural model can explain and clearly show which personal social skills and
abilities need more attention of educators. In the area of solving educational problems, the
main attention must be given to training specific social abilities that are parts of various social
skills.

C. Methodical skills:

This category comes closest to hard skills, because methodological skills often manifest in
practical expertise. However, these skills are not so easy to demonstrate since they are often
the basic prerequisite for acquiring verifiable hard skills. For example, the soft skill
“presentation skills” is an essential basis for the hard skill of being able to operate
“PowerPoint,” while problem-solving competence is necessary for learning programming
languages.

Methodical competencies (e.g. stress resistance) also often overlap with personal skills (e.g.
resilience). Nevertheless, methodological skills belong in a separate category because they not
only cover the personal spectrum, but also support or even define much more direct
professional skills.

You seem to have serious a problem to create clear ideas, try to reconsider the problems I
noted in red and make sure your language(words, structures, ideas, etc) contribute to construct
meaning

- Analytical skills:

Analysis means uncovering the mechanisms behind complex facts and breaking them down
into their most important components. Your analytical skills make you a precise observer
who puts the knowledge gained into practice in order to constantly help yourself, your
method, and your team improve. Especially when it comes to failures, it’s important to use
your analytical skills because this is the only way you can learn from them. A certain degree
of self-reflection and communication skills will help you tremendously.

- Organizational talent:

Sometimes professional life means you have to juggle several tasks since they cannot be
completed at once. The ability to arrange lots of tasks makes you a reliable individual. If you
have a distinct organizational talent, you can prioritize things in a meaningful way and
structure your day-to-day work and that of your employees in such a way that they work as
efficiently as possible. Organizational ability is a soft skill that becomesall the more important
the more independently you work and the broader your range of tasks.

- Presentation skills:

You have a confident demeanor and an engaging way of speaking, and can therefore
present excellently. Whether it's a PowerPoint presentation to present a specific project or a
summary of your progress in a team meeting, your presentation techniques will ensure that the
issues are communicated in an understandable way. This soft skill increases in importance as
you move up the corporate ladder.

- Problem-solving skills:

This soft skill is closely related to your analytical skills. Problem solving requires an
appropriate strategy, and to find it, you need to have a clear understanding and analysis of the
problem. As a competent problem solver, you will face any challenging development with an
alert mind and creative ideas. No matter the problem: You find its source, recognize the
consequences, and develop a suitable strategy to solve the problem. This ability can easily be
trained in a playful way, for example, through challenging computer games or mind sports.

- Stress resistance

The ability to deal with stress is primarily based on your personal skills. Resilience,
responsibility, and motivation work together in order to reliably master the often
unpredictable challenges of everyday life. There are many techniques for coping with
stress, but stress resistance comes from a strong character. As a methodical skill, it also refers
to the ability to nip any possible stress in the bud through a high degree of discipline, self-
organization, and self-reflection.

- Dealing with new media:

Today's digital landscape offers many possibilities, but also many dangers. Using new media
(social networks, online platforms, business networks, etc.) in a skillful and sensitive way is
an important soft skill for representing not only yourself, but also your colleagues and the
company to the outside world. Using this media in a careless way can cause significant
damage, e.g. if you reveal  sensitive company information via private accounts or complain
about your workplace on social networks.

Be aware that social networks, in particular, have changed the way we present ourselves to the
public, so use them in a way that doesn't damage your reputation or that of your company. In
general, you should develop a certain flair that enables you to use your personal and social
skills successfully online.
It is very abnormal to read a whole text, full of technical words and definitions, without
any scholar or specialist name!!!

Référence :

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/social-skills

https://www.crsd.org/cms/lib/PA01000188/Centricity/Domain/932/socialskills_rk.html

https://www.ionos.com/startupguide/productivity/soft-skills/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
333142271_Concept_and_Structural_Components_of_Social_Skills