There’s a lot of buzz in the tech world that soft skills help employees succeed and move up the corporate ladder as much as, if not more than, tech skills. In fact, two recent workplace studies by Google revealed the top seven skills that indicate career success at the tech giant are all soft skills, with hard STEM and tech skills coming in last. These soft skills include communicating and listening well, valuing different viewpoints, empathy, problem-solving, and making connections across complex ideas. Further, managers seek those career readiness skills in tech candidates with the potential for upward mobility. A recent article in PC Magazine indicated soft skills like time management, leadership, creativity, and communication are as important as current tech skills to managers and employees.
You Don’t Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
The adage is true: first impressions count, whether you’re meeting someone for the first time or writing an email, so it’s important to write in a friendly, polite, and professional way. Just like an in-person meeting, an email sets the tone for all future interactions. For example, Entrepreneur Magazine suggests a clear subject line, addressing the recipient by name, a friendly introduction and closing, short, concise paragraphs, and not writing emotionally to ensure emails are well-received and read. Clear and effective email communication is one of many important career readiness skills that make workers both employable and promotable.
Genesys Works NYC Helps Underserved High School Students Gain Career Readiness Skills
While internships, courses, and work experience can help students and employees build soft skills, these doors are not always open to NYC’s underserved youth. That’s why Genesys Works NYC offers an eight-week best-in-class summer Skills Training Program focused not just on technology training and business operations, but on key areas like teamwork, business writing, problem solving, and communication skills. Through a robust curriculum and sessions that include mock interviews, we pave the way for our students to be workforce ready for their paid internships, so they’re prepared for job success as well as a positive educational and economic trajectory.
Come Celebrate Our Interns’ Breakthrough Moments
Please join us virtually on June 9 and celebrate our interns’ breakthrough moments at the Genesys Works NYC Breaking Through. While we may have laid the groundwork with soft and tech skills training, they picked up the baton and crossed more than a finish line: they’ve stepped into a future where they’re empowered, capable, and on paths to sustained economic mobility. We hope you’ll join us as they share some pivotal moments in their internships, from learning to ask for help, communicating with a team, multitasking, and flexible thinking skills to Excel formulas and software skills. Come celebrate their achievements and a brighter future for NYC’s underserved youth.
