I’m a business school dean. Recently, I spoke with a business owner at one of our alumni events. He told me he was now hiring tradesmen based largely on attitude, not solely on skill set or experience level. He’s looking for a teachable attitude and outgoing personality, which is important for his service personnel. After hiring for attitude he trains those new employees in the skills they need. He’s created his own “university”!
So, who’s employable?
In this case a business owner is emphasizing soft skills for field personnel to sell products and services. For an applicant, discipline-based knowledge is good, but not a deal closer.
New hires, college grads and skilled trades, must bring to the table a critical set of soft skills. My conversation with this business owner reinforced what I’ve read elsewhere that discipline-based knowledge paired with practical experience is important, but success also requires soft skills.
Among our business majors we’re seeing this soft-skill expectation play out across the board, including in some of our most analytical majors, such as computer science and accounting.
Read More … PDF Read on LinkedIn