7 Soft Skills for Engineering Students to Master In Life!

 Without a doubt, there is a tremendous global demand for engineers. Companies are always looking for engineers with the skills essential to design and develop new goods and services due to the rapid evolution of technology. Many people are unaware, though, that for engineers, soft skills are as crucial as technical or hard skills.

Soft skills are crucial for engineers because they enable clear communication with co-workers, clients, and customers. You develop relationships and trust when you speak and write clearly. For an engineering career to be successful, these connections are crucial. 

Soft skills also help you better comprehend the needs of your clients and customers. You may give them the ideal solution by being aware of their requirements.

These are character traits and soft talents that make it possible for you to communicate well with others namely interpersonal, analytical, time management, and collaborative skills. 

Soft skills are the non-technical capabilities that ensure you will excel in any environment, whereas hard skills are the technical abilities you must possess to work at a specific job.

With hard skills, you will be able to do the same job over and over. However to grow your job, improve your relationships, and enhance your general quality of life you will need to develop strong, soft skills.  

How does developing soft skills early help students? 

Any skill developed young tends to be stronger and more ingrained in us. So, while soft skills can be developed at any phase of life – they are all teachable & learnable skills, but like brain development if they are taught and imbibed early in life, they become second nature by adulthood.

In adulthood – we have so many other skills to learn and develop, careers and professions to excel at, friendships and relationships to build, parenting and other adult activities to undertake. How much better would it be to have learned, practiced, and assimilated these essential skills earlier on in life – so we can concentrate on the harder stuff? 

How to list soft skills on a software engineering resume? 

Engineers will be evaluated on their quantifiable skills, but intangible qualities like language skills, the ability to work in a team, and attitude show that you can function in both formal and informal settings. This will be crucial to hiring managers who count on you to innovate, collaborate, coordinate, and lead with others. 

Even while you don’t have to specifically list soft skills on your resume the way you would technical talents, make sure you at least have the following three crucial soft skills. 

To be a good engineer, one must possess a mix of hard and soft abilities. They enable an engineer to carry out the necessary tasks and collaborate with other employees to work as a productive team.

• When you list any skill on the resume, ensure it begins with a strong action word/verb.

•  Explain the skill by demonstrating or giving a brief description of how and when you have used that skill. 

• Example- If you are good at problem-solving, mention the problem and the solution you came up with. Make it a point to keep it short & to the point. 

• Always learn the most basic soft skills that your position demands.

I have noticed the trend that recruiters and hiring managers are looking for applicants with soft skills over hard skills. 

Top 7 soft skills to master for engineering students

1. Communication 

Employers usually want people with great communication skills because many businesses conduct business using e-mails, chats, the phone, or video conference calls. Communicating with a team clearly and simply also reduces misconceptions and increases productivity. 

Your CV should include tasks and accomplishments that need both verbal and written communication if you want to emphasize this soft skill. 

You will frequently need to consult with others on designs or plans when working in engineering. Collaboration requires the capacity to communicate coherently. 

When working with non-engineers, it is especially crucial since the engineer must translate complex technical information into a language that non-engineers can understand. Everyone concerned can then understand the options and progress.

Many times, the way we conduct ourselves and express, ourselves may not convey our message. Our non-verbal expressions i.e., body language have huge control over how the other person judges us. A few tips that will help you project positively through body language –

• Use a firm handshake. But don’t use too much pressure.
• Posture – slouching or sitting with arms crossed may appear rude 
• Touching your face or fiddling with your hair conveys nervousness
• Open hand gestures show enthusiasm about the conversation.
• Maintain eye contact and nod occasionally to convey interest

2. Listening 

Engineers should listen actively to ascertain their clients’ needs and figure out how to best meet those needs. By paying close attention to your clients’ speech, asking for clarifications, analyzing gestures and facial expressions, you display active listening. Active listening demonstrates concern to your clients and a willingness to develop solutions that address their needs. 

Being attentive is only one aspect of active listening. Making eye contact, participating in the discussion, and posing questions is also necessary. You can conduct some research and practise at home with friends and family to improve this crucial ability. 

You can highlight instances on your resume where your ability to actively listen benefited a co-worker or the business.

3. Critical Thinking skills

When solving a problem, critical thinking can be applied in three steps. To guide your decisions:

1.   Start by defining your mission.
2.   After identifying your biases, consider potential solutions from the viewpoint of your company or client.
3.   Consider the effects of your choices. 

Engineers can use this ability to enable them to think about the bigger picture. When working on a system or product, they may come up with long-term strategies to assist them in achieving a goal. 

When engineers list this competency on their resumes, it demonstrates to potential employers that they are detail-oriented, which may imply that they produce accurate, high-quality work. Give specific examples of when you used good judgement.

4. Problem Solving

Recruiters and hiring managers frequently seek applicants that can solve. They desire the kind of thinking that might inspire breakthroughs within the business. Share instances in your CV where your inventiveness and creative thinking allowed you to overcome obstacles. 

Strong problem-solving skills is the most important trait an engineer can have. A substantial portion of an engineer’s duties involves analyzing a situation, spotting issues and then coming up with solutions. Employers want to know that you can overcome challenges in your regular work.

Problem-solving is a soft skill that permeates many of the other strong abilities on this list. How can you deal with dissent or disengagement within a project team? How can you effectively get the support of all stakeholders involved in a project that is having problems and you need extra resources?

5. Time management

Even if it doesn’t sound glamorous, time management is a skill that supports all you do in your professional life. As an engineer, your days are filled with a variety of duties, so it’s essential to establish time management skills to perform them quickly while maintaining the high level of service your clients and employers require. A few tips on how you manage your time and accomplish all tasks-

• Make a list of goals to be done daily
• Delegate when necessary
• Start with time-sensitive tasks
• Communicate with your colleagues
• Keep track of your time

6. Empathy

The development of relationships with co-workers, clients, and other contacts, as well as your self-awareness, are other components of emotional intelligence. It forms the basis for several other soft skills needed by engineers. 

In this sense, the word “empathy” is frequently used. If you take the time to understand individuals, you can communicate with them on a far deeper level.

Empathy is demonstrated in action by engaging in small talk before and after meetings, inviting clients to share their concerns about company issues. Building an informal comfort level with clients informal to obtain a more thorough brief. 

In engineering project teams, empathy is identifying when colleagues are struggling and developing plans and motivating and helping them achieve their targets or goals. Productivity, efficiency, outcome are a result of an excellent work environment. 

7. Resilience

The capacity for resilience is the capacity to confront and overcome adversities. A person who possesses great resilience abilities can deal with shortcomings because they don’t allow obstacles to stand in the way of their success. 

They encounter challenges and stress like everyone else, but they do so in a more positive way and don’t let it get in the way of their achievement. 

For instance, a person with resilience who receives a job rejection email can feel dejected but also determined to use the experience to inform his future job application.

Conclusion 

When developing power skills, your personality already plays a role. 

Nobody is advocating that you develop into a polished presenter, an energizing leader, or a trailblazing inventor. 

It’s okay if you wish to specialize in engineering or concentrate on achieving a modest degree of proficiency in those crucial soft skills. 

How can an engineer differentiate themselves from the competition to secure the top positions with the most promising futures? By utilizing training, mentoring, and self-development activities to help engineers gain crucial soft skills in addition to staying current with technology advancements.

Anyone with proper guidance can master these soft skills and land their dream job! And, we’re here to help you do just that. 

Deepma Jadeja

Deepma is a co-founder and trainer at The Confident Communicator, and is having the time of her life empowering children, teenagers, women, corporate executives, friends and family live their best life. She helps people become effective in the art and science of communication, build their self esteem, and conquer their deepest fears. She conducts training programs in Communication Skills, Leadership and Assertiveness for young adults and corporates, and has co-developed several products in line with the Company’s mission of Empowerment. "Our kids are grappling with the pressures of social media, stalking and seeking instant gratification, and it is our duty to help them rise above these influences and empower them to build positive self worth, and resilience."