Soft skills or “transversal skills” are getting more and more attention in the labor market and became an important element in the selection process. They can even be decisive factors in obtaining a job. It is therefore important to be able to identify them, understand their value and promote them efficiently.
The three most sought after skills appear to be: the ability to work in teams, adaptability, flexibility and communication, that should be enhanced and highlighted.
These information emerge from an investigation carried out by the Placement Office at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice that was shared with 90 firms (small and medium-sized as well as international) and was presented during the three Career Days that were held on November 7th, 9th and 10th on Retail and Lifestyle, Arts, Tourism, Communication, Industry, Services and IT.
“Transversal skills” are individual features that characterize your path and set of knowledge and do not necessarily derive from your study path or your work experience, including: having a result-oriented and positive approach, embracing adaptability, empathy, leadership, conflict management, persuasion, group management, self-awareness, self-control, pattern recognition, systemic thought, verbal communication…
In this study, the Placement office aims at supporting students in using the appropriate strategies to enter the labor market and at providing firms with well-trained students who can make the best of their potential.
The firms’ standpoint
This investigation involved 90 firms (small and medium-sized as well as international) which were approached: what impact do transversal skills have in selecting a candidate? How do you evaluate them in a resume? How do they affect the interview?
62% of the approached firms said that transversal skills matter “very much” in the selection processes.
To support this assumption, they declared that “especially for junior figures transversal skills complete the candidates’ profile and can make a difference in their growth path”.
When working in a team, one must have the proper attitude and ability to adapt: “A talented graduate who can do their job properly but cannot become a part of the firm is less interesting than a less talented graduate who can better work with others and enrich the firm’s culture”.
The transversal skills are essential to learn technical skills, knowledge and scientific ability that are required for certain kinds of employment. “Being proactive, having analytical skills and being able to understand the context or facilitating teamwork are fundamental resources that will enable the development of more technical skills”.
Which skills are mostly targeted?
The office gave a list of soft skills to the firms asking to evaluate the most important ones in their selection process: the three most sought after skills in a new graduate are teamwork ability, adaptability, flexibility and communication (written, spoken).
Which skills must new graduates have in their first interviews?
Recruiters expect new graduates to have teamwork ability, adaptability and show interest in continuous lifelong learning.
Empathy, networking, problem solving, tolerance and stress management can be learnt through working and Ca’ Foscari helps new graduates with labs organized by the Competency Centre.
Communication and soft skills
Enhancing one’s resume is very important: 69% of firms explained that skills are often not appropriately expressed and displayed in a confused fashion in resumes.
For 46% of recruiters, there should be a specific section in one’s resume, while for 30% of them transversal skills should be described by associating them with personal and professional skills.
Previous activities - as part of one’s study, professional experience (including internships) - and extracurricular (hobbies, volunteering, sport…) should be mentioned.
For 61% of the firms, candidates should enhance their skills by evoking previous experience or by explaining how situations were dealt with.
Non-verbal communication is essential for 18% of the firms: we express much in paraverbal (tone, volume…) and nonverbal (face expressions, glance, body movements…) manners.
The Assessment Centre was identified by 17% of firms as a group selection technique to identify the required skills for the open position: candidates must face practical situations and find for instance solutions to theoretical or real cases. This instrument measures the candidate’s ability to reach results together with other persons and to solve complex situations and keep interpersonal tensions that can occur in a group under control.
