The practical value of soft skills

Not long after I graduated from college, I interviewed for a job with a wholesale office supply company. I had zero experience in office supplies, but I was looking for a transition job (the one between graduation and whatever I was supposed to end up doing--I was still very unsure). Somehow, I got the job.

During the first couple of months, I learned that one other person had been a finalist for the position, and she brought seven years of experience in wholesale office supplies. She eventually landed with one of our competitors, but I was confused about how I got the job instead of her.

After I had been with the company for a while, I got up the nerve to ask my boss why he chose me over her since I was clearly the least qualified. His answer has stayed with me every since. He said it was because I had an English degree.

Huh? Had he not heard that English degrees are throwaway degrees, like Art History or Fine Art? What the heck?

His explanation showed a level of insight that I have learned to appreciate deeply. He noted that while she did have office supply experience, she didn't have what the job required: soft skills.

He noted that people can be taught pretty easily the difference between Bic and PaperMate pens, but teaching then critical thinking is much more difficult. He said he needed somebody in the role who could read people, who could hear the unspoken, and who could solve problems before they even became apparent to most people, and he felt like my interview and the fact that I had an English degree suggested that I was the right person, so he hired me.

My rival for the job had the hard skills, but I got the job because of soft skills.

It's a hard call sometimes, but, though the years, I've found myself leaning in the same direction. I've hired photographers with almost no photo experience because they could easily connect with people, and the photography business is mostly about developing relationships. I've hired teachers who had never been in a classroom but who had been incredibly successful managers because they knew how to analyze and coach their team members to success.

I'm not saying hard skills are unimportant. Please never let a neurosurgeon cut into my skull who hasn't actually learned the parts of the brain, for instance. And I don't need another nice guy working on my car who doesn't really understand engines.

Still, though, the surgeon who operates well but who has no ability to convey her thoughts clearly, or the top mechanic who cannot engender a feeling a trust in his customers probably will find limitations to their successes.

As professionals, we need to strive to be the total package: knowledgeable in our skill areas but strong in ways that can be more difficult to master. It actually is important to be on time. To get along with others on your team. To develop a possible solution before you bring the boss a problem. To write clearly, appropriately and properly. To manage your time and not to make excuses. These are just some of the skills that have immense value to leaders who truly understand that the whole has to be greater than the sum of its parts if anybody is going to succeed.

My office supply boss was kind enough to say that, after working with me for six months, his decision proved to be a good one. He felt that English majors have a wide breadth of experience "reading" people, trying to understand them, and seeing how other people solve problems. While I was reading classic literature and struggling to find meaning in the words, apparently I was also gaining valuable soft skills.

I've lost touch with him, but I hope he knows that he made a difference in someone's life. He boosted the confidence of a very inexperienced young person, he articulated the practical value of loving words and their meanings, and he showed me the importance of looking beyond the items on a resume when filling a team roster. He made me a better employee, and I think he made me a better boss. He taught lessons that I never learned in a classroom, but that were significantly more valuable to me. For that, I am grateful.