Amer_SoftSkillsClassroomCareer

Slide 1: 

SOFT SKILLS: Connecting Classroom to Careers

Last Time We Met…: 

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

What Industry Thinks: 

What Industry Thinks Technical skills and computer literacy are assumed!

What Industry Wants: 

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

What Our Students Want: 

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

One Solution: Soft Skills at Work: 

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

Our Experience at Northern Arizona University: 

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

CIS Course Implementation: 

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

What Did the Students Do?: 

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

For Example…: 

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

Then…: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Survey: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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)

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback Presentation skills: 94%

Some of the Comments Related to the Chapter Contents: 

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!

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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)

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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

Moment of Truth: Student Feedback: 

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

Some of the Comments Related to the Videos: 

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’.

Students Enjoyed…: 

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

Would We Do It Again?: 

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

Career Connection: 

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

Wrap Up: 

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