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SOFT SKILLS: Connecting Classroom to Careers

SOFT SKILLS: Connecting Classroom to Careers. Last Time We Met…. Soft Skills Are:. Soft Skills Are Not:. Formal or technical knowledge. Skills, abilities and traits that pertain to personality, attitude, and behavior. What Industry Thinks.

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SOFT SKILLS: Connecting Classroom to Careers

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  1. SOFT SKILLS:Connecting Classroom to Careers

  2. Last Time We Met… Soft Skills Are: Soft Skills Are Not: Formal or technical knowledge • Skills, abilities and traits that pertain to personality, attitude, and behavior

  3. What Industry Thinks • Technical skills and computer literacy are assumed!

  4. What Industry Wants • Skill sets that include: • Oral and written communication skill • Critical thinking ability • Problem-solving resourcefulness • Ability to work productively on a team

  5. What Our Students Want • Meaningful employment • Competitive advantage in today’s economy • Help with soft skills

  6. One Solution: Soft Skills at Work • Workbook and Video Package • Published by Cengage • Contains practical guidance with videos and personal reflection “callout boxes”

  7. Our Experience at Northern Arizona University • Implemented “Soft Skills at Work” • Used in Intro CIS course • Close to 1,000 students Fall 08 • Topics covered: • Resumes, attire, online persona management, written communication, team dynamics and generational differences, presentation basics

  8. CIS Course Implementation • Course Coverage • Part lecture, part lab (Office 2007) • Soft Skills Integration • Replaced some critical thinking cases • Covered all 5 workbook/video chapters by spacing them out over 15 weeks

  9. What Did the Students Do? • Completed the in-text “personal reflection” boxes • Example: • Watched and critiqued the accompanying videos • Submitted end-of-chapter exercises

  10. For Example… • Chapters 4 and 5 • Chapter 4 Exercise: Planning the Next Training Meeting (in teams) • Had to research locations • Created a Word document with summary • Prepared an Excel worksheet for all locations • Required team coordination on formatting, data collection and reporting

  11. Then… • Chapter 5 • Teams selected and presented one location to the class • Had to “dress the part” • Submitted Word, Excel and PPT documents

  12. Moment of Truth: Student Survey • Student majors: • Business • Accounting, Finance, Advertising, Marketing, Management, CIS • Hotel and restaurant management • Elementary education • Forestry, geology • Entrepreneur /own business • Health professions • Dental, speech, medical, PT

  13. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Students were asked to rate topics in terms of how helpful it will be in the future. • Resumes and interviewing skills: • 97% • (Somewhat to very helpful)

  14. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Online persona management, identify theft and cyberstalking: • 88%

  15. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Written communication skills, e-mail/cell/text message etiquette: • 90%

  16. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Team dynamics and generational differences: • 89%

  17. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Presentation skills: • 94%

  18. Some of the Comments Related to the Chapter Contents • I need to clean up my online persona – I have pictures out there I’d rather not be public! • It helped me fix what was wrong with my resume’ • I found things when I “googled” myself that surprised me! • Made me realize that everyone on a team has a different personality but can still contribute • These are life skills I will use all the time • It reminded me how important basic grammar and etiquette are!

  19. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Students were asked to evaluate how much they learned from each chapter’s video episode. • Resumes and interviewing skills: • 72% • (Moderate to tremendous amount)

  20. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • What the recruiter does back at the office: • 83%

  21. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Preparing for the first big writing assignment on the job: • 81%

  22. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Working with a dysfunctional team: • 83%

  23. Moment of Truth: Student Feedback • Making an effective presentation: • 86%

  24. Some of the Comments Related to the Videos • I noticed how people acted – what worked and what didn’t. I don’t think I would have caught it if I didn’t actually see it. • As soon as you walk in the building, you are being evaluated on how you present and carry yourself. • I need to be prepared – do my research, dress appropriately, and act professionally if I want to get and keep my job. • I need to speak up and not assume that people will know I am qualified just by looking at me or reading my resume’.

  25. Students Enjoyed… • The resume and interviewing skills chapter and videos the most • (but the others received votes as well)

  26. Would We Do It Again? • Yes! We are! • What we observed (besides what the students said in their comments): • E-mail messages were written with more care • Not everyone knows what an executive summary is • Professional business casual attire does not include sneakers, jeans and t-shirts

  27. Career Connection • Students caught on pretty quickly • Recognize need for advantage in today’s competitive job market • Recruiter feedback is positive

  28. Wrap Up • The workbook and videos are available now – see your sales rep! • Questions? • beverly.amer@nau.edu

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