Workplace Skills
“It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head — it is the unique intersection of both.”
Showing posts with label Soft Skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soft Skills. Show all posts
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
CA Career Café
"The way of the world is meeting people through other people.”
Did you know?
Joining a Professional Association while still on campus can help students learn about their prospective career paths and offer a wealth of experiential and networking opportunities. Professional organizations exist for almost every profession from artists to zoo keepers. These non-profit organizations host meetings, conventions, and virtual workshops. Introduce your students to Professional Associations via the California Career Café where students can access Cool Connections, a Professional Association database.Try this…
- Ask your students about Professional Associations…
What is a Professional Association?
Can you name some Professional Associations?
Why join a Professional Association?
Can you name some Professional Associations?
Why join a Professional Association?
- Share your own Professional Association experiences.
- View video.
- Access this Professional Association database and identify associations related to your discipline.
- Distribute the Student Activity, review the directions, and complete.
- Discuss the possibilities and power of networking cards.
Add an Experience!
Have students try the Connect to a Professional Association student lesson on CaCareerCafe.com. Encourage students to make a personal connection via phone, email or in person using their networking card as part of their introduction.Wednesday, 18 September 2013
REGISTER TODAY SPACE IS LIMITED
The Jails to Jobs training is packed with practical and proven approaches to job search that will help close the employment gap for re-entry candidates. You will also get an opportunity to network with other employment program staff and learn their best practices! Find out how to close the employment gap and help them put the criminal justice system behind them!
REGISTER TODAY!
916.325.1610| 916.325.1618| info@calworkforce.org | Website
Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
CA Career Briefs
“No matter how smart they are, or how many degrees they earn, students need a solid set of soft skills in order to be successful.”
- Nancy Barry, Author and Speaker Get Soft Skills
Did you know?
Employers seek employees who have a positive attitude, strong work ethic, excellent communication skills and business etiquette savvy. They want new hires who are passionate about their work, see everything as an opportunity, and meet deadlines. These skills are dubbed soft skills and are not typically taught in a college course. Yet, studies suggest that hard skills contribute to only 15% of a person’s workplace success while the remaining 85% relies on good soft skills. Give your students an edge over the competition by helping them define and develop their soft skills.Do this…
- Ask students to help you define soft and hard skills.
List some of their hard skills. (do calculus, speak French…)List some of their soft skills. (effective speaker, great collaborator…)
- View video.
- Distribute the Student Activity, review directions and complete.
- Share some students’ responses to…would you hire you?
Get Real!
For several more free and collaborative soft skills lessons try Backpack to Briefcase and the Workplace Skills archive on CACareerBriefs.com. For soft skills lessons students can complete indepedently, steer them to Get Job Ready on CACareerCafe.Com.Tuesday, 4 June 2013
It is not tool late to join us for the outstanding FREE faculty development event in San Francisco, June 17-21, for which qualified community college faculty in ICT related programs in California, Nevada, Hawaii or the Pacific Territories may receive stipends or travel expense reimbursements, courtesy of the National Science Foundation and the CCC Chancellor's office. 105 of your peers have registered so far.
The southern California Faculty Development Week is currently underway, with roughly 100 instructors in attendance.
ICT is fast moving and hard to keep up with. These tracks offer opportunities to gain valuable new knowledge and skills in developing the ICT workforce.
Click on event links below for full event and track descriptions.
This week's focus:
- Learn storage technologies from market mover Netapp in this first time offering for community college ICT educators in the MPICT region in San Francisco
- Learn how to integrate problem-based learning into ICT classes in San Francisco
Six "Train the trainer" tracks to prepare faculty to teach new or improve existing courses or programs:
- Cisco IT-Essentials (Also Available to High School Teachers)
- Cisco CCNA 1 Version 5 (Also Available to High School Teachers) - Class Full
- Accelerated NetApp Certified Storage Associate (NCSA) Boot Camp (See video interview for why to attend)
- Content Management Systems (CMS) Fundamentals and Security
- User Experience and Interaction Design Intensive
- Packet Analysis and Intrusion Detection - Class Full
One pedagogical track to impart new teaching and learning skills:
We may not be able to support these kinds of great events forever. Take advantage of it! We hope to see you in San Francisco soon.
Thanks,
James Jones
Executive DirectorMPICT
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Professionalism Still a Problem in Workplace
There are glimmers of hope that professionalism among entry-level employees is making short-term gains, but, in the long-term, a sizeable percentage of respondents believe that professionalism has decreased over the past five years. That’s according to the 2013 Professionalism In The Workplace Study, annual nationwide survey on the state of professionalism, an annual nationwide survey from the Center for Professional Excellence (CPE) at York College of Pennsylvania.
As in the past three years, researchers asked HR professionals to comment on the state of professionalism. This year, researchers also reached out to a nationwide sample of managers and supervisors.
“HR professionals are more likely to report problems of professionalism in the workplace than are managers,” said Matthew Randall, executive director of the CPE. “However, when managers specified the employee segments that most lack professionalism, they point toward younger employees.”
Researchers compared data from the past four years and found an apparent generation gap between hiring managers and HR professionals and younger, entry-level employees.
“Much of the generation gap revolves around professionalism standards,” said David Polk, PhD, whose firm, the Polk-Lepson Research Group, was commissioned to conduct the survey. “Current business leaders and HR professionals do not believe that the definition of professionalism should change over time. Business and HR professionals say young employees need to learn to conform to ‘current standards’ of professionalism rather than the standards be modified in response to larger society changes.”
Entitlement Among New Employees
Every year this survey has asked HR respondents if younger employees feel a sense of entitlement. The good news, from the company perspective, is that over the past four surveys, the sense of entitlement has slowly decreased, according to HR professionals. In 2009, 60% of respondents said that entitlement among younger employees had increased. In 2010, that number fell to 55%. In 2011, that number fell to 50%. The bad news, however, is that it is still a problem. Half of the HR respondents and 33% managers report that a sense of entitlement has increased over the past five years.
About the Study
A nationwide random sample of 401 human resource professionals was surveyed. Data was collected by using online surveys. The maximum margin of error associated with the samples is 4.9% at the 95% confidence level.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania has conducted a survey on the state of professionalism. The Center plans to capitalize on the research by using the results to guide campus seminars, classroom experiences and student workshops.
Click here to download a copy of the 2013 Professionalism in the Workplace Study.
Click here to download a copy of the 2013 Professionalism on Campus Study.
Click here to download a copy of the 2012 Professionalism in the Workplace Study.
2012 Professionalism in the Workplace Study - Visual Snapshot
There are glimmers of hope that professionalism among entry-level employees is making short-term gains, but, in the long-term, a sizeable percentage of respondents believe that professionalism has decreased over the past five years. That’s according to the 2013 Professionalism In The Workplace Study, annual nationwide survey on the state of professionalism, an annual nationwide survey from the Center for Professional Excellence (CPE) at York College of Pennsylvania.
As in the past three years, researchers asked HR professionals to comment on the state of professionalism. This year, researchers also reached out to a nationwide sample of managers and supervisors.
“HR professionals are more likely to report problems of professionalism in the workplace than are managers,” said Matthew Randall, executive director of the CPE. “However, when managers specified the employee segments that most lack professionalism, they point toward younger employees.”
Researchers compared data from the past four years and found an apparent generation gap between hiring managers and HR professionals and younger, entry-level employees.
“Much of the generation gap revolves around professionalism standards,” said David Polk, PhD, whose firm, the Polk-Lepson Research Group, was commissioned to conduct the survey. “Current business leaders and HR professionals do not believe that the definition of professionalism should change over time. Business and HR professionals say young employees need to learn to conform to ‘current standards’ of professionalism rather than the standards be modified in response to larger society changes.”
Entitlement Among New Employees
Every year this survey has asked HR respondents if younger employees feel a sense of entitlement. The good news, from the company perspective, is that over the past four surveys, the sense of entitlement has slowly decreased, according to HR professionals. In 2009, 60% of respondents said that entitlement among younger employees had increased. In 2010, that number fell to 55%. In 2011, that number fell to 50%. The bad news, however, is that it is still a problem. Half of the HR respondents and 33% managers report that a sense of entitlement has increased over the past five years.
About the Study
A nationwide random sample of 401 human resource professionals was surveyed. Data was collected by using online surveys. The maximum margin of error associated with the samples is 4.9% at the 95% confidence level.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania has conducted a survey on the state of professionalism. The Center plans to capitalize on the research by using the results to guide campus seminars, classroom experiences and student workshops.
Click here to download a copy of the 2013 Professionalism in the Workplace Study.
Click here to download a copy of the 2013 Professionalism on Campus Study.
Click here to download a copy of the 2012 Professionalism in the Workplace Study.
2012 Professionalism in the Workplace Study - Visual Snapshot
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
CA Career Briefs
Did you know?
According to Forbes 2013 job skills list, 9 out of the 10 most in-demand jobs required complex problem solving skills. Employers want to hire employees who have the skills, tools and experience to find unique solutions to the problems they face. Learning to reframe problems is one strategy that will encourage students to look at a problem from different perspectives and to use their imagination to unlock an array of novel solutions. While reframing problems takes effort, attention and practice, it will enable students to see the world around them in a new light as they work to find innovative solutions in the workplace and in their personal lives.Do this…
- Ask your students questions about how they go about solving problems.
- View video.
- Distribute Student Activity, review directions and complete.
- View this additional video if you want more on Tesco fresh approach.
Get Real!
For additional problem solving strategies, suggest students stop by the CACareerCafe.Com and try the online lesson- Solve Problems.“...you can practice reframing by seeing the world from others’ perspectives and by asking questions that begin with Why?”
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
California Career Briefs
“Failed employees rarely fail because they aren’t smart. They fail because they don’t fit.”
Consider Culture
Did you know?
Because 89% of hiring failures are due to poor cultural fit, helping your students understand the “what” and “why” of corporate culture will facilitate their career success. It’s hard to for students to get their arms around corporate culture and many new job seekers tend to dismiss it. Corporate culture is the personality of a company. It is the sum total of an organization’s values and behaviors the ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the wider community. When employees fit into their organization’s culture, they tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, more committed to their companies, more influential in the workplace and have greater career longevity. To help your students tune in to the importance of workplace culture and avoid a culture mismatch try this activity.
Do this…
- Ask students:
What different kinds of culture are you experiencing in your classes?
How does this college culture differ from your workplace culture?
Why does workplace culture matter? - View video.
- Distribute Student Activity, review and complete the exercise.
- Discuss ways this information will help them when they are looking for a job.
Get Real!
Encourage your students to pay attention to their current workplace culture and be prepared to share the things they like and the things they would like to change at the next class meeting. In addition, encourage them to visit theCACareerCafe.Com and “Tune in to Corporate Culture.”
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
by Janet Pinkerton Wednesday, October 31, 2012, CompTIA
IT workers have to be careful to speak so their listeners can understand. "No matter how talented you are with computers, you have to learn to communicate with all types of people and translate your ideas into their language," says Nancy Ancowitz, a business communication coach.IT workers have to have sharp communication skills in order to succeed. Such skills don't always come naturally, but they can be learned.
"Just like with baseball playing and piano playing, you can actually improve your communication style and how you are perceived through practice," says Maren Perry, principal of Arden Coaching, an executive coaching and management-training firm based in Manhattan.
The stakes for learning to communicate well are high. "An IT worker may have all the technical skills in the world, but communication skills are something that you need to get the job, keep the job and advance in the job," says Nancy Ancowitz, a New York City-based business communication coach and the author of "Self-Promotion for Introverts."
A properly programmed computer typically performs according to expectations. "But people aren't like that," says Perry. "People are messy. They have feelings. They mis-hear things, misspeak. They react; they take things personally."
Good communication requires that IT workers navigate the human factor. "In order raise your level of communication, you are going to have to take some risks, or do things that feel like risks, and step out of your comfort zone," says Perry.
Ways to improve your communication abilities can include initiating casual conversations and practicing paying attention and listening to others. Building relationships with others helps you to figure out how to deliver your information so they will hear it properly and feel comfortable enough to respond.
IT workers have to be careful to speak so their listeners can understand. "No matter how talented you are with computers, you have to learn to communicate with all types of people and translate your ideas into their language," says Ancowitz.
So refrain from speaking "geek" to a human resources employee, for example.
Adds Perry: "The most valuable person on a technical team will be the person who can explain things to someone who is not a technical person." Practice describing technical information to a 10-year-old or to grandparents, she suggests. "If you can describe technology in non-technical terms, people will love you for it."On Dealing with People
Perry urges IT workers to pay attention to and acknowledge the "messy" human emotions that can be attached to technology-related conversations. When answering help desk calls, for example, "just addressing the technical concern or complaint isn't enough," Perry says. "You have to address the whole person. The caller may have lost lots of data, lost sleep, or be in a time crunch with a boss breathing down their neck to get something completed."
IT workers will garner greater customer satisfaction or co-worker affinity if they acknowledge the human emotions tied to technical problems. "People just want to be heard and understood," says Perry.
Perry's basic ground rules for work place conversations:
- "No profanity, no scatological conversation, no politics, no religion."
- "More formal is better than less formal until you are told otherwise."
- "If you wouldn't say it to your grandmother, don't say it at work."
- Avoid taking part in or listening to gossip. It always will come back to bite you somehow."
In addition, she advises that IT workers learn how respond without negativity, and not react defensively, when a workplace conversation is unpleasant. "So if someone comes at you with an accusation or a high-pressure conversation, absorb what that person is saying, take a moment if you need it, and respond with your best judgment."
On the flip side, learning to apologize can also improve communication ability. If you've overreacted, overstepped a boundary, made an error, or offended someone, you can't expect a colleague to pretend it never happened, says Perry. "You need to be able to apologize so you can repair the relationship—so the two of you can move forward, and the other person can hear the next things you say."
Workplace Tips
Stop doing email, and look the person in the eyes. Put your pen or smartphone down. Stop checking the scores of the game, and pay attention to what you are talking about.
J.R. Samples, CEO, Accountability Partners
Communicating effectively at work also requires that you know your priorities and goals in order to effectively respond to others' requests throughout the workweek, says J.R. Samples, CEO of Accountability Partners, a business consulting firm in Chicago. "Having a good perspective on your objectives, and how you are going to accomplish them and when, is important so you can give your manager or co-workers a heads-up when new demands might interfere with somebody's expectations of you."
Asking "What do you mean by that?" can clarify the scope or expectations of another person's request or idea, says Samples, adding that this is true whether speaking to a low-key colleague or a hard-driving, Type A manager.
If you have a question or concern in the workplace, it's your responsibility to speak up, adds Perry. "Sometimes that means making consequences clear and asking a manager to make a choice—about which requested tasks should be done before 5 p.m., for example."
Samples also urges people to make time and space to communicate well. "Stop doing email, and look the person in the eyes. Put your pen or smartphone down. Stop checking the scores of the game, and pay attention to what you are talking about."
Finally, IT professionals can also seek outside help. "Ask your boss and colleagues for feedback about your communication skills," says Ancowitz. "Ask for specifics about your listening and speaking skills, as well as the effectiveness of your participation in meetings or PowerPoint presentations. And learn from what they say."
Reading books or blogs about business communication skills can help you learn. Ancowitz points out that learning public speaking skills through an organization like Toastmasters can be very useful. "A lot of people consider public speaking to be scarier than death, but it's an essential leadership skill and it doesn't have to take a lot of time to learn."
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