Soft Skills Matter — Even in Tech Jobs

You would think that tech companies would value technological skills and knowledge above all else. How contrary this type of thinking is today. Check out this article about what one tech company learned, The surprising thing Google learned about its employees — and what it means for today’s students.

It is the lack of soft skills that cause disruptive behaviors in the workplace. If I had it my way, I would have everyone do an internship to figure who they really are. The other thing is that when doing hiring in our emergency management profession, have the probationary period be one year/12 months. No one can be "good" for that length of time and if there is a problem, you will know it before that hire is permanent. 

Think of internships and probationary periods as equating to being "engaged" before becoming formally married. It is an opportunity for a couple to figure out if their relationship is rock solid, and the same could be said for the workplace. 

When you look at what people get terminated for, it is rarely about a technical skill. Typically it is their behavior in the workplace and how they interact with co-workers. 

Claire Rubin shared the link above.