Soft Skills Inventory
Communication skills:
For a previous class, I presented a project on alternative fuels to the class as well as the professor. For this presentation, I communicated to the professor my expertise in this subject by presenting the facts and research I conducted. At the same time, in order to communicate to the students most effectively, I used interactive techniques through questions posed to the class to keep their attention throughout the presentation. During my internship, I would call clients to update beneficiary information.
I was able to effectively communicate by having all necessary documents at hand and being prepared to answer any question that they may have.
Interpersonal skills
At my internship, I had the fortune of working with many high ranking professionals in the company. I would sit in meetings with people thirty to forty years older than me. I quickly learned that interacting with them was very different from interacting with friends and peers. I participated in a group called International Student Connection. I would interact with international students and help acclimate themselves to the campus and American cultural.
I would spend time speaking with them to help develop their English, most coming in with only a very basic understanding of the language.
Leadership skills
I had a group project for a class, where we wrote up a proposal about the injustice in Zimbabwe to our state senator. I took the lead in this group by delegating different research responsibilities to each member, where we could at a later time present the research that we found to one another. I also made sure that each person was actively researching by emailing them updates about when we would meet, as well as stay on track with the timeline that we set.
During my internship, I had a task to set up a marketing event. I built a team of a couple interns to help in preparing for this event. I took on the main responsibilities of setting up a location and clientele list. I knew however that I needed the other interns’ help in building a full list of potential clients that would attend. Even though this was a event that I was spearheading, working as a team best utilized the different resources that they offered.
Teamwork skills
My pledge class for my business fraternity needed to create a professional, service, and social event for the whole business fraternity.
It was clear that we could do this most efficiently by breaking our class up into smaller teams, who in turn would primarily be responsible for one of the event. We would then come together to schedule these dates together. Participating in athletics best exemplifies teamwork, in my opinion. Teamwork was crucial in winning my business fraternity basketball tournament. It also proved to be essential in winning events in the Business Olympics held across campus.
Time management skills
My part time job during my undergraduate years required working throughout the night. I would work from 12 am to 5 am two or three times a week. I would do this while having class at 9 am every morning. Good time management skills were very important in order to keep pace in class while also working these hours. During my last semester for finals, I had four exams over the course of 3 days. The week leading up to finals, I broke down the possible study time that I had and designated time slots in which I would study for a certain subject. Keeping to this schedule as well as being very disciplined was the only way I was able to survive that week.
Analytical and problem solving skills
For my project on alternative fuels, I researched all the different technologies that have currently been developed, and those that were still being developed, and then I cross referenced this information with the university’s initiative on going “green. ” I did this in order to find the best ways for the university to become more environmentally friendly in a cost-effective way. I used my knowledge of the game of basketball in order to run a basketball tournament for a club more efficiently. I used the resources that I had available to run the tournament at a quicker pace, and also saving money, by being charged less time for the gym.
