Importance of soft skills for an Engineer

“It is not the strongest or most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” – Charles Darwin. Consider this example: You are hired by a Multinational company and you need to present an idea in front of clients hailing from different countries. Your idea is unique and perfect but they reject the possibility of it. What is the reason behind their decision? They probably failed to comprehend the entire concept behind your idea because you lacked the required communication skills. The importance of soft skills cannot be stressed enough especially for engineers, who shape our future.

Soft skills, categorically a term used for communication and interpersonal skills, are one of the most important to survive in competitive and fast-paced World like todays. There are students who excel in their respective fields but are unable to communicate properly and express themselves. What good is a product if it cannot represent its key attributes to the consumer. In this comparison, the product being the job aspirant and the consumer is the recruiter.

Why are soft skills a must have for engineering graduates?

One might wonder, why does this apply to the field of engineering, one where hard skills play a vital role?

The answer to your question is simple. You need to present yourself efficiently and effectively in order to convince the recruiter into hiring you. If you aren’t proficient enough, you will be bypassed for someone who can present the idea and sell it in the process. Underconfidence, lack of expertise of a spoken language or being unable to present yourself in a proper manner, are a few criteria which land your resume in the list of brilliant job aspirants who get left behind.

Even in the IT sector where technical skills, with respect to programming knowledge and technical aptitude, are of primary importance, soft skills come into the picture. Recruiters are now looking forward to hiring candidates who global citizens. An employee who can handle themselves with grace against any setting. The importance of soft skills is not stressed upon enough in most engineering colleges. With its importance being disregarded, students are unable to refine their soft skills. They don’t get the required exposure and thus face rejection despite being well qualified.

Building healthy relationships via efficient communication and team-work is another neglected factor in the engineering fraternity. Because of lack of the necessary communication skills, students encounter difference in opinions and clashes exist between co-workers. To avoid such instances, employers now prefer testing students on grounds of soft skills beforehand. Many companies have started conducting language proficiency tests to shortlist students.

What can you do as a job aspirant?

Students must focus on their weaknesses since the very beginning of college. A SWOT analysis especially helps in working out strengths and weaknesses. They must inculcate a habit of conversing in English even if they aren’t very fluent. Fluency comes with time and practice. The more you speak, the better you’ll get with time, both in grammar and fluency.

Nothing is impossible if you have the zeal to learn.

To sum up, the current scenario completely justifies Shiv Khera’s (author) quote: “People who wish to go into the future should have two skills to succeed – the ability to deal with people and the ability to sell.”