Author: Zuzana Kocáková

You may have come across the term soft skills when looking for a new job or at an interview. Many employers consider them important and often crucial. The advantage is that these skills do not need to be specifically taught and are not related to qualifications or expertise. You just need to develop them.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are abilities or qualities that are naturally given to you. They are not related to what school you graduated from or what knowledge you have. They are associated with a person’s personality, empathy and emotional intelligence. In practice, this means only one thing. If you want your soft skills to be better, you don’t need to learn anything. Just develop them and work on them.

At first glance, it may seem that this type of skill is not important for the job. But the opposite is true. Nowadays they are much more in demand than ever before. Unlike hard skills that you have learned, soft skills cannot be replaced by automation. Employers look for people with a good level of soft skills because they are the ones that make a company grow.

What soft skills are employers looking for?

In most cases, employers are looking for a person suitable for career development, i.e. an employee for several years or for life. Therefore, they want a person with not only a lot of technical skills, but also a portfolio of soft skills. The employee must be able to work with teammates, clients and customers. They must be interested in the job and should be motivated to achieve goals.

The most in-demand soft skills on the labour market:

• Communication – the ability to communicate is one of the most desirable qualities. It allows you to react quickly, solve problems and adapt to the situation. In addition, you will be able to get along better with people, which you can use, for example, when approaching a potential customer with the intention of persuading them to buy your company’s products or services. Communication is also linked to listening skills, which are also highly valued in the labour market.
• People management – the ability to lead people and motivate them in a certain way is especially important for leadership positions and during teamwork. In addition to inspiring colleagues, you can plan time and tasks effectively. Decisiveness is also often associated with this skill.
• Self-motivation – in order to achieve all your goals, you need to be able to motivate yourself. If you can do that, you’re that much closer to your dream job. Every company needs an employee with vision and high goals.
• Responsibility – when you get a job, you are given a lot of responsibility, not only for yourself, but also for the company you work for. Discipline and precision, which are also in high demand, are connected with responsibility.
• Teamwork and flexibility at work – working in a team is more challenging than working as an individual. Getting along with other people, motivating them and advising them costs energy and strength. If you know how to do that, you are a very valuable employee.
• Problem solving – sometimes it takes hours or days to reach a goal and an agreement in a conflict. If you can solve a problem in minutes and keep calm, employers will fight over you.
• Ability to work under pressure – some jobs are known for their amount of work and relentless deadlines. In others, you’ll rarely encounter pressure and stress. No matter what your job is, if you can handle a heavy workload, you are a great asset.
• Good time management – you need to plan your individual work tasks so that you can complete them by the deadline. Companies don’t need someone who forgets and constantly puts off work.
• Analytical thinking – this is a specific way of thinking. It allows you to gather information and make the right decision. Choosing the right solution in a particular situation or choosing correctly from several options is challenging. Employers know this, which is why candidates with an analytical mindset are rare and extremely beneficial to them.
• Creative thinking – this type of soft skill is especially useful if you work in a creative industry. Original ideas and interesting thoughts can move you closer to your goals.

How improve soft skills

Soft skills are your secret weapon, so you should keep improving them. This will be appreciated not only by your current or future employers, colleagues and clients, but especially by you. Actively developing these qualities will also be reflected in your private life, which you will be able to see in your communication with others or in your approach to everyday problems.

The way to improve soft skills mainly depends on what skill you want to strengthen. Each skill will require a different approach, but there are some general guidelines that can be applied to all soft skills.

Find out what you’re good at

Every person has strengths and weaknesses. You are better at some things and worse at others. Instead of focusing on something you’re not good at, do the exact opposite. Find out what you enjoy and feel good about. If you don’t know what it could be, ask around. Your friends and acquaintances can certainly help you with this.

Write down your soft skills and start working on them gradually. If you’re good at time management, learn some time-saving tricks, what planning methods exist and what tools can be used. The same applies to other skills, such as analytical and creative thinking or the ability to work under pressure. Everything can be improved.

Get feedback

Even though it would help in many areas, one cannot critically evaluate oneself. Of course, one knows their shortcomings and weaknesses, but they overlook some things. That’s why it’s a good idea to ask for feedback, preferably from a person who works in the same field as you. It should be someone who has more experience or has been in the industry for a longer period of time.

Another option may be a friend or family member. However, the problem here is that the person close to you is usually not as critical and objective as they should be. Many weak points are overlooked. So try to go to someone who can give you a realistic and sober view.

Try online courses and books

Soft skills books or articles with tips and advice can help you develop your skills. Soft skills courses and trainings can help you too, and you can find a lot of them on the Internet. Some are free, for others you need to pay. It’s up to you which option you choose. Theoretical skills development is good, but also focus on practical skills development, which is key to broadening your scope.

Step out of your comfort zone

Usually, you show your soft skills especially among your family and friends. It’s about people you feel comfortable with. In the comfort zone, you are neither tense nor stressed. However, you won’t have such an environment at work, and this is especially true if you’re planning to change jobs or are just starting out in a new one.

This is exactly why you should step out of your comfort zone and start working on skills outside of it. Get into an environment you don’t naturally gravitate towards. If you’re an introvert, try a team activity. If you’re more of a team player, choose a job for an individual.

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The more often you step outside your comfort zone, the better equipped you will be to handle major changes. You will learn to draw on your strengths in situations that would otherwise make you feel silent or uncomfortable.

Think about your actions

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s almost impossible to find time for yourself. So take a 5-10 minute break after finishing a project or meeting. Evaluate what you think you did right and wrong. Go over your reactions and how you resolve conflicts. Find out if you did what you wanted to do or if something held you back.

Self-reflection is not about being hard on yourself and beating yourself up for making the wrong choices. Its job is to teach you something new and move you forward. Knowing where you went wrong makes it easier to avoid it in the future. With a few minutes to evaluate your work performance, you will gain a lot of information about yourself. Sometimes you get interesting insights.

Observe others and actively listen

One of the best ways to boost your soft skills is to watch others. It could be your superiors, your subordinates or your colleagues. Find out how they perform their tasks, if they have any individual processes and what they are good at. Take inspiration from people in your neighbourhood.

In addition to observing, also actively listen. Focus on what others are saying, not only to respond, but also to learn something new. Active listening does not necessarily mean that you agree with the person. It can also be the exact opposite. By listening, you show that you understand their point of view, but your beliefs are different.

Communicate constantly

Interpersonal communication is the key to resolving many problems and disputes. If you know what to say at the right time or in the right situation, you’ve won. However, even the best speakers had to build their skills. In addition to reading, regular communication will help you expand your vocabulary. Talk to different people and on different topics. Even the ones you don’t enjoy. This gives you a general overview, which is another important skill.

Definitely don’t underestimate soft skills

Soft skills have a multitude of benefits. The main one is that employers value them much more than the professional and learned ones. But don’t be fooled. Even naturally acquired qualities need to be constantly developed and improved. You can do this in a number of ways, from reading books to self-reflection. Choose one or more options and kick-start your career with job offers at msg life Slovakia.

Find out what analytical thinking is and how you can advance your career thanks to it.

Analytical thinking is related to the ability to gather and evaluate information, solve problems and make decisions. Employees who have this skill can quickly identify a problem, propose a solution and improve overall productivity and success in a team or company. Job candidates with strong analytical judgment are therefore attractive to employers.

In people with a strong analytical mindset, the left hemisphere dominates, which is responsible for logic and the dominance of “reason” over the senses. Analytically minded people do not give in to their emotions and often work in jobs such as programmer, statistician or notary. However, in case you don’t have analytics in your genes, there are ways to improve it.

What is actually analytical thinking?

Analytical skills are used in brainstorming, observing, interpreting data, integrating new information, theorizing, and making decisions based on multiple available factors and options. Employers often prefer employees with the ability to research a problem and find an effective solution. Solutions can be achieved through clear, methodical approaches or creative techniques. This can also impact your career growth. So, with analytical skills, you approach problems rationally and use logical judgement rather than your emotions to make decisions. People with a strong analytical mindset approach situations impersonally and with a certain distance. This is what makes their final decision objective, which is perceived as extremely positive by employers, especially in stressful work environments or for important projects.

An example of how analytical thinking works in practice

Example: a customer (insurance company) came to us after CR-close (deadline for submitting requests for the next software delivery) with a new CR (change request). They specified this request so that the change could be deployed to production within the defined deadline. The request was a new interface (batch) to automate the reporting of the insured people in the divorce process. This new functionality was to be able to identify relevant policyholders in the database and extract the divorce and property details of the policyholder so that the insurer could report them to another institution via a generated file.

Creating a batch is always a complex and time-consuming task. Based on the customer requirement, a new process diagram is modelled and within it, logically interdependent rules are defined that serve as the basis for implementation. The first step was to develop a cost estimate, which we specify in PT (man-days). However, we had no chance to deliver in the required quality in the next software delivery. Since we had the divorce process implemented and implementable through a GUI (Graphical User Interface), it occurred to me to try to include the creation of the newly required file in the process.

Instead of new functionality for automated file creation via batch, the application would add a new field to the existing distribution process that would serve as a trigger to generate the required file for a given policyholder. After discussion with development again, this solution proved to be feasible and was agreed to by the customer.

Consequently, it was necessary to pre-prioritize the CRs that were to be included in the next software delivery. We evaluated that if we moved the two smaller requirements to a later date, we could handle this requirement instead in the current delivery. In the end, the customer was satisfied because they could put the change into production within the statutory timeframe. Thus, in solving the problem, we analyzed the reality of the situation based on observation and evaluation of all relevant factors and assessed the feasibility of the requirement itself. We had to change and adapt our strategy several times in order to satisfy the client in putting the change into production within the statutory deadline. But in the end, we figured out a way to meet all the requirements and deliver a result that the client was happy with. And all of this only through analytical thinking.

Types of analytical skills

Few people have a strongly developed analytical mind, but everyone has some analytical skills. As part of the job application process, you need to highlight specific analytical skills on your CV, depending on the position you are applying for. You should definitely mention these five skills in case they are characteristic of you. In fact, it is their inclusion that may determine your future employment.

Communication

As they say, communication is the basis of everything. In work, but also in everyday life, it is therefore essential to be an effective communicator in order to be able to discuss one’s own ideas and suggestions, together with conclusions and recommendations. You will appear more confident in front of your employer, who will also get the impression that you are confident in your decisions, which will increase your value in the work team and your worth on the job market. Analytical communication skills include:

• active listening,
• survey,
• teamwork,
• oral communication,
• written communication,
• presentation skills.

So these are fairly common abilities that you may not even have known were related to analytical thinking. Think about how you manage working in a team. Do you find it difficult to present ideas in front of colleagues or do you have a habit of jumping in, not giving them your full attention or reacting passive-aggressively? By analysing your strengths and weaknesses, you will be able to evaluate your analytical communication skills and use them to your advantage.

Creativity

Analyzing information often requires a creative and skilled eye with the ability to spot and detect subtle details or trends in data that others may not see. But creativity is also important in problem solving. An employee with strong analytical skills will think outside the box, resulting in the ability to come up with effective and original solutions. This makes them an invaluable part of the work team. Creative skills include:

• brainstorming,
• budgeting,
• cooperation,
• optimization,
• predictive modelling,
• restructuring,
• strategic planning,
• integration.

However, the current times have a negative impact on the creativity of employees. They are often under a lot of pressure to come up with new and innovative solutions and ideas, which over time takes a toll on their mental health. Not only do they have to deal with stress, but many times also with burnout syndrome. However, at our company, the health of our employees comes first and we treat each team member individually and humanely.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is related to evaluating information and then making decisions based on specific findings. This analytical ability greatly helps in solving the problems of the society. An employee who approaches a situation critically becomes a valuable member of the team because of his or her ability to objectively and factually assess as well as evaluate the problem and propose an adequate solution. Critical thinking includes:

• process control,
• auditing,
• benchmarking,
• big data analysis,
• business intelligence,
• causal relationships,
• comparative analysis,
• correlation,
• decision-making,
• inductive reasoning,
• interpretation of data,
• setting priorities,
• problem solving.

Data analysis

In the context of analytical thinking, we can’t forget about data analysis. This is the process of breaking down a complex problem into its individual parts. It means that you pay attention to specific data in an effort to better and more accurately evaluate the situation and therefore the desired effective solution to the problem. There are many different types of data analysis, but the most common ones you will encounter in a work environment are:

• business analysis,
• strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis,
• cost analysis,
• critical analysis,
• descriptive analysis,
• financial analysis,
• predictive analysis,
• process analysis,
• qualitative and quantitative analysis,
• ROI analysis.

Research

The ability to collect data and research a particular topic is also a fundamental analytical skill. This includes online research, data gathering and competitive intelligence. Analytical research skills include collecting metrics, data, setting priorities or checking for accuracy.

How to highlight your analytical thinking?

Analytical thinking is appreciated by many employers, so it’s best to emphasise this skill when applying for a job. List your analytical skills with a specific example of where you have used them. Your skills may come from previous work experience, volunteering or school. Focus on what you are good at and show why you would be a great asset to the work team.

Tips on how to improve analytical thinking and skills

Being analytical gives you more detailed information about the topic and helps you make more rational decisions. Employers want to see that you can not only gather information, but also articulate it and solve complex problems. We can advise you on how to improve both your analytical thinking and your skills.

1. Read more

An important part of analytical activity involves vigilance and constant stimulation. Regular reading can keep your mind active, make your brain think in new ways, and encourage you to look at the issues in the book differently.

2. Build your math skills

The math involves solving the equation step by step to get the correct answer. All forms of math are logical, so honing your math skills is a great way to improve your analytical thinking and abilities. Practice different types of math problems to help you build your logic and problem solving skills.

3. Play games that boost your cognitive abilities

Games like this challenge you to think deeply and logically. Although they are mostly perceived as fun, this type of game is a common and preferred method used to hone analytical skills. A great example is playing sudoku, board games or doing crossword puzzles.

4. Learn something new

Expanding the skills and knowledge you have acquired so far can also improve your analytical thinking or skills. The more you learn, the more information and methods you can use to solve problems and analyse situations. Many people become passive learners after completing the required education. Strengthen your cognitive skills by learning something new every day – something that interests you, or get better at an activity you are passionate about. You can also take an online course in a subject you don’t know and are intrigued by, or learn a new foreign language. This will also help you to expand your knowledge in areas you didn’t know before and make you a little bit smarter again. (As part of our employee benefits, we also support colleagues’ growth through language courses.)

Did you know that…

Can regular exercise improve cognitive abilities? When it comes to exercise classes, being able to remember the next steps in an exercise routine is a great way to develop your analytical skills. Knowing a particular sequence enables you to concentrate on the task at hand while preparing you better for what comes next.

5.
Buď pozornejší a vnímavejší

Paying attention to detail and being more perceptive of your surroundings is a great way to improve your analytical thinking and skills. This aspect allows you to understand how certain things work and interact. Engaging your sensory perceptions as well as actively participating in the world around you will help you improve your analytical skills. A very small thing can also be helpful. Try observing birds and their interactions, or consider the multiple connections and patterns taking place in the outside world. Paying more attention to the small, seemingly unimportant details in your life will help you in your working life.

6. Join the discussion club

Working in a group environment allows you to meet other people and discuss ideas, problems and other situations. Understanding how others process information and interpret their surroundings will greatly help you to guide your own world view and develop your analytical thinking and skills.

7. Write down your experiences in a diary

Regularly recording the events of your day in a journal gives you time to reflect on yourself. When things don’t go according to plan, you can learn from those mistakes. This is because much of the analysis involves trial and error. Keeping a diary helps you to apply the knowledge you’ve gained to current problems and improve your thinking and analytical skills when considering the future.

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Although experience is the best teacher, everything takes time. Finding a mentor to guide you in the right direction will be of immense help as you move forward. They will show you the difference between mediocrity and greatness in your professional life.

8. Často sa pýtaj

When someone asks a question, they often ask for an explanation so that they can better understand the issue. Expressing curiosity provides different perspectives and allows you to compare your own opinion with someone else’s. Sometimes common questions will lead us to a different answer than originally expected. This is a common condition in any situation, and especially in problem solving, as your brain becomes more actively wired to think more analytically.

9. Download apps

While not all apps can help improve your analytical skills, many are helpful in this regard. Logging what you eat each day via a mobile app allows you to track and analyse your daily calorie and nutritional intake. Similar apps allow you to interpret the data and take the necessary steps to adjust and improve your diet. In the same way, using apps such as budget tracking can help you identify past spending habits and determine how to proceed with future ones. While honing your analytical skills takes practice, there are a few ways through which you can make sure you stay motivated. The more you experience, the more you’ll be able to improve your analytical thinking and skills, and increase your value in your professional life as well.

Improving analytical thinking and skills is in the interest of every employee

Analytical thinking is linked to the ability to gather and analyse information, solve problems and make appropriate decisions. Most employers require applicants to have analytical skills. They are used to solve problems that may not have obvious solutions or have multiple variables. There are many types of analytical skills, including communication, creativity, critical thinking, data analysis, and research. Try our guide on how to improve your analytical thinking and skills and become a valuable team player who will impress any future employer with your resume and skills. How your career develops depends on it too. Make sure you move up in your work and in your everyday life.

Teamwork is very important for the effective functioning of the company. Read our tips.

If you work as a team leader and are responsible for the functioning and results of a work team, you know how difficult and long-term this process is. On the other hand, working as part of a team is characterised by higher efficiency, better quality results and also greater enjoyment of a job well done. Read our tips on how to build and maintain a successful, high-functioning team in your company that reaps success and doesn’t have to struggle with the competition.

Several studies have pointed to the fact that promoting teamwork in the workplace has a positive impact on productivity and quality of work, creativity, innovation and job satisfaction, which in the long run will help the company to move forward.

Participants who worked in a team, as opposed to those who worked alone, were able to cope with more challenging tasks and also showed more interest as well as enjoyment in their work. These employees were also more motivated to complete assignments and generally performed better. Team spirit can be built over time as long as team members are motivated and their performance is rewarded.

How to improve teamwork in the workplace?

1. Good communication is the key

Communication within the team is key. Although it sounds like a cliché, it is often forgotten. But maintaining clear and good communication, especially in a large team or a team that works remotely, isn’t so easy anymore. According to the study, only 27% of all teams are satisfied with how their team works during an assignment.

Conversely, up to 65% of teams do not feel that their team is functional and think that if they could work better together, the result of their work would be much better. Communication issues are therefore a major problem in teamwork.

Sufficiently open communication in the workplace will ensure that all team members are on the same page, leading to more efficient work in a shorter period of time. Direct and honest communication helps build trust among team members, which also improves overall performance. Unclear instructions and communication noise are common problems and can only be eliminated by fostering team spirit, for example through joint extra-work activities.

2. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

If a team player is unsure of his own roles and responsibilities, it often creates tension in the team. Teamwork is therefore also important to ensure that each team member knows exactly what they are responsible for and that there is no overlap in projects. The resulting work will be of much higher quality and there is no risk of multiple employees working on the same task or forgetting an assignment.

If multiple employees are working on the same task due to confusion in responsibilities, invaluable time and team effort spent on the task is lost. Each individual should be held accountable for achieving team goals, tools, and mutual support. Establishing clear goals for each team member helps maintain consistency with assigned roles and responsibilities. This is the only way ideal teamwork can look like.

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If there are disputes within the team, they need to be resolved early as they can escalate into serious problems that will interfere with projects. It is essential that team members proactively address them. At these moments, it is often recommended to involve mediators to help mend relations between colleagues, making teamwork truly effective.

4. Diversity and inclusion in the team

To build a successful team, it needs to be diverse and made up of unique people with different experiences. So it’s important that it’s not just made up of like-minded members. Every single team player is then likely to bring different perspectives and interesting, original ideas to the table. With multiple perspectives comes more thorough decision-making.

People often tend to surround themselves with persons who think and act in ways that reflect their own thoughts and actions. Although a group of like-minded individuals can get along great together, as a team leader, focus on the bottom line and ask yourself these three questions:

1. Will this team bring fresh ideas to the table?
2. Will team members encourage each other to look at the project from all possible angles?
3. Will the team members be so imaginative that they will come up with innovative ideas that no one will question?

If all team members think alike, come from similar backgrounds, and have the same beliefs and opinions, the work the team produces is likely to be one-sided and less creative. If each team member has unique views, beliefs or backgrounds, the team’s results are likely to reflect a greater amount of creativity and innovation.

3. Build trust in the team

Working in a team with someone you don’t trust completely is counterproductive. For this reason, trust is a necessity if you want to lead a successful team. Trust between team members is also strengthened, for example, during joint physical activities, simple team building activities, but time spent together over lunch also works quite well.

It is also important to encourage team members to interact with each other, even outside of working together. Not only will this build trust, but it will also boost morale and employee job satisfaction. Teamwork is more enjoyable if you like the people you work with.

5. Autonomy in decision-making processes

Trust in your team members is essential in decision making to build trust and improve teamwork. If people don’t have the autonomy and authority to make decisions about their own work, they often begin to neglect it. Therefore, it is extremely important that each team member has a voice in the decision-making process to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their own work and assignments.

6. Managing team meetings

Team meetings, however often they happen, should be used to:

• planning,
• brainstorming,
• reflection,
• sharing ideas.

Team meetings should be clear, concise and useful in order to increase productivity. No matter how often teams meet, they should have a structured plan for each meeting. This will ensure you have organized and productive meetings, which will also improve team performance.

7. Reorganization of team dynamics

If some team members are not doing their tasks or responsibilities, it is important to make some changes. Don’t be afraid to assign tasks to someone else. This is the only way to improve team dynamics and productivity. If team members have tasks that they can’t complete, it will have a negative impact on the entire team.

In most teams, the work is dependent on one or more team members. It is therefore important to ensure that all members are assigned appropriate tasks that allow them to use their skills and show their potential. As a result, they will be able to carry out their job duties much more quickly, easily and naturally.

8. Team learning opportunities

How can you expect everyone to be a perfect team player if they never learned to work on a team project? Some people may take it for granted that they work in a team, but it doesn’t come naturally to everyone. If you want to maximize the benefits of collaboration in the workplace, it’s important to provide your team with the proper training and guidance.

Employee training and development will not only increase teamwork skills, but also employee engagement and satisfaction. Employee training and development through workshops and qualified guest speakers are great ways to ensure that all team members understand the importance of teamwork in the workplace, as well as how to be an effective team member.

Careers and education are interlinked. That’s why it’s vital to expand your knowledge and skills in both professional and personal development to make a difference to your work team.

Patience brings roses

Effective teamwork has the potential to increase employee satisfaction and productivity while reducing fluctuation, ultimately helping the company achieve higher profit margins. Every company benefits from promoting successful teamwork in the workplace. Effective teamwork doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time. It is supported by joint company teambuildings, which not only strengthen relationships but also settle any previous misunderstandings and disagreements.