Making the case that the "soft" and applied skills essential to customer service are foundational to success in many different careers.

1. Customer Service Experience Builds a Foundation for Careers in Many Fields
“Soft Skills” are Essential across the Board
“Experts broadly define soft skills as a set of non-technical, professional abilities such as communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills, as
well as personal traits such as integrity and responsibility that employees need to secure employment and succeed in the work place.”i
Top Skill Requirements for New Entrants to the Workforce
By Source
Customer Service Jobs All Entry-Level Jobs
O*Net KSAs,
thru MERIC
Burning Glass,
thru MERIC
Getting Youth in the
Doorii
Are They Really Ready
to Work?iii
Skill Gaps:
The Ill-Prepared
Workforceiv
Skills to Pay the Billsv
Customer, personal
service
Communications Customer service Professionalism, work
ethic
Oral communication Communications
English language Customer service Communication Teamwork,
collaboration
Active listening Networking
Active listening Organizational skills Teamwork /
interpersonal skills
Oral communications Written
communication
Enthusiasm and
attitude
Speaking English Organizational/
planning skills
Ethics, social
responsibility
Teamwork /
collaboration
Teamwork
Service orientation Telephone skills Critical thinking /
problem-solving
Critical thinking,
problem-solving
Prioritization and
focus
Problem-solving and
critical thinking
Social perceptiveness Writing skills Creativity Information
technology
Time management Professionalism
Oral comprehension Computer skills Culture sensitization Written
communications
Critical / analytical
thinking
Oral expression
Mathematics Presentation /
professionalism
Diversity External customer
service
Speech recognition Work ethics (integrity,
reliability)
Lifelong learning, self-direction
Decision-making
Speech clarity
Self-assessment Creativity, innovation Internal customer
service

2. i International Youth Foundation. Getting Youth in the Door: Defining Soft Skill Requirements for Entry Level Service Sector Jobs. April 2013. P.1
http://www.youtheconomicopportunities.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resource/Getti ngYouthInTheDoor.pdf
ii Getting Youth in the Door, P. 2.
iii The Conference Board, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Society for Human Resources Management. Are They Really
Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century US Workforce. P. 20. The list provided ranks
applied skills for new workforce entrants with a high school education. http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF09-29-06.pdf
iv University of Missouri St. Louis, College of Business Administration. Skill Gaps: The Ill-Prepared Workforce. 2013. P. 3
v US Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy. Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success. No date. P. 7.
http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/softskills.pdf