Building the Soft Skills of Success

A staggering 53% of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed for months after walking across the stage to get their diplomas. Talking with business leaders, one reason for this comes up again and again. People who do the hiring say that they hesitate to take on many recent graduates because, despite their schooling, students fresh out of college often lack the soft professional skills that make them valuable employees. In other words, they aren’t “job ready.” Classroom education and a degree are not enough.

Internships can help bridge that gap, but only those that value the student and build the “soft” skills of success. Our internships are designed to give college students a mix of valuable experiences, allowing them to develop the interpersonal and productive skills that employers want such as communication, leadership, critical thinking, curiosity, resilience, problem-solving, inquisitiveness, accountability, reliability, and a willingness to learn. It’s true that most people have these qualities to some extent, but to be considered job ready, jobseekers must show they’ve spent time practicing these skills. They need to show they know how to engage in conversation, seek out answers, and take on new responsibilities.

While C4C is all about introducing diverse college students to education careers in a way that lifts younger students and helps educators in under-resourced schools, we are also about bringing our interns the soft skills they need to prosper even if they do not continue on in education. Recently, one of our past participants who was a mentor in his sophomore year reached out to say how much his C4C experience helped him, not only to build his resume but also to navigate his next internship–in accounting.

Isaiah Saint-Vil is now a senior at Roger Williams University, majoring in finance and accounting. His exposure to education has made him think he may want to teach in later years because he wants to give back to the community. For now, though, he will pursue finance. He said the C4C internship provided him with invaluable insights beyond the world of education.

When he was younger, Isaiah worked other jobs, but none intentionally treated him as a professional and specifically trained him to develop his interpersonal and leadership skills. Of course, if he wants to thrive in his chosen field, he must continue mastering the hard skills involved, but without the softer skills, he easily could find himself floundering in the workplace.

The work that our mentors do is far from busy work. During their time working with middle school and high school students, they work as part of a team with parents, teachers, and administrators to come up with ways to support the schools and the younger students. Our mentors have substituted as classroom teachers, engaged as translators, developed plans to mitigate disruptive behaviors, worked one-on-one with students, worked as family liaisons, and helped with administration. Time and again we hear from school leaders how our mentors have helped raise the level of learning with their leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Their internships make a difference, not only to the folks in the schools but also to themselves. Even if they do not go on to pursue careers in education, the mentors learn skills that are transferable and invaluable. Outside of the classroom, we regularly meet with the mentors to discuss problems and troubleshoot solutions. We work to identify end goals and ways to get there. They learn how to think critically, tackle tasks with passion and compassion, and work collaboratively with others.

Working as a mentor, for example, Isaiah said he realized how important listening could be to doing a job well and creating a productive workplace. As a C4C intern, he had to listen to the younger students and understand their difficulties and listen to the teachers to comprehend their issues and expectations. Then, he had to act on that knowledge.

“It definitely gave me a different perspective on things,” he said. “It made me more patient, and it made me see how important it is to listen and understand expectations not only for others but for myself.”

His experience as a C4C intern helped him crystalize a critical lesson: If you want to give the most and get the most, you need to learn how to work in tandem with others and be part of shaping the narrative.

Whenever he is faced with a new task or situation, Isaiah said his first order of business is to identify expectations and map out a plan. Working as a mentor, he learned that every teacher and every student had different takes on what they expected. He carried this over to his corporate internship.

“Right after I introduce myself, I try to determine what the other person’s expectations are for me and for whatever it is we are doing,” he said. “I listen. I let them know how I can help them, how I can I make their job easier. I listen to learn what they need from me. And I try to determine what my own expectations are so together we can be as successful as possible.”

When I hear about mentors like Isaiah taking their C4C experience into the world, whether it’s in education, business, healthcare, or another field, I definitely count that as success.