Soft Skills Workshop WMU BTN Sept 2009

Soft Skills Workshop
WMU Business Technology Network (BTN)

Agenda
Overview and Welcome
Essential soft skills that you will need as a business professional
How soft skills can help prepare you to land a job and jump start your career
Specific Skills
Professional Networking
Negotiating
Business Meeting Skills
People Skills

Overview and Welcome
Section 1

Speakers: Who We Are
Gary Mescher Business Development Manager for BDO Seidman, LLP, a national accounting firm, with Michigan offices in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Detroit. He speaks frequently on the topic of effective networking to classes at Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University. Gary is a graduate of Michigan State University. He is past president of the MSU Alumni Club of West Michigan and served as chair of the College of Communication Arts & Sciences alumni board and chair of the MSU Alumni Association National Alumni Board.
Matthew MacePresident/CEO for BlueGranite, Inc., a national IT consulting firm, with Michigan offices in Kalamazoo and Detroit, and regional offices in Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington. Matthew was selected as one of the Top 40 Business Leaders Under 40 for West Michigan, and was a Western Michigan University Alumni Spotlight recipient. He is a Computer Information Systems graduate of Western Michigan University and completed his MBA at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Overview: Why We’re Here
Studies by Harvard and Stanford Research show that technical skills and knowledge contribute to only 15 percent of one's success while soft skills make up the remaining 85 percent.

Professional Networking
Section 2

Ten Tips to Grow Your Professional Network
1. Build it before you need it (volunteer)2. Don’t Be a Networking Jerk3. Don’t Keep Score4. Create Instant Intimacy5. Be Audacious6. Develop Conversational Currency7. Learn to Listen8. Master Nonverbal Cues9. Get to Know the Gatekeeper10. Create a Personal Advisory Board

Social Networking
LinkedIn
Facebook
Blogs
Twitter
WMU Alumni

Negotiating
Section 3

Your First Job Offer: Negotiate for Happiness
Everything in your Offer Letter is Negotiable
base salary, various kinds of bonuses, healthcare & retirement benefits, stock options, reimbursed expenses and other incentives that add to job satisfaction and provide financial security
Take into account more than just financial considerations can also lead to that elusive condition called happiness
Job role and responsibilities
Personal, sick days, and vacation
Training and education (time and tuition)
Expected travel time (overnights)

Top 10 Tips for Negotiations
Know your “walk away” alternative options (BATNA)
Do not disclose the details of your options
Seek to understand the other party’s BATNA
Make the first offer
Offer high (or low) but make it reasonable and provide evidence
Control your emotions
Seek to understand the other party’s interests vs. position
Create options that satisfy the other party’s interests
Analyze concessions
Listen more than you talk

Position vs. Interests

Preparing for the Initial Offer
Their walk-away
Their desired offer
Your walk-away
(BATNA)
Your desired outcome
Your initial offer

Business Meetings
Section 4

Business Meeting Tips
Know what to wear!
Have your tools ready
Bring a note pad and pen
Bring a business card (and copy of resume if interviewing)
Take careful notes
Do your research
Know who you’re meeting with, create a bond
Know what the company/organization does
Listen attentively
Follow-up with hand written note (better than email)

Giving Great Presentations
Be interesting and enthusiastic about your material
Know your material - practice, practice, practice
Know your audience, and what might interest them
Face the audience, and look them in the eye
Don’t read your slides

People Skills
Section 5

Collaboration and Teamwork
Collaboration is
bringing together knowledge, experience and skills of multiple team members
to contribute to the development of a new product
more effectively than individual team members
Collaboration requires effective teamwork
Trust and respect among team members
Open communication
Willingness to accept input from others
Employers want to hire employees who will be effective team members who collaborate with other stakeholders

Ultimate Soft Skills: Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence at Work
EQ accounts for 60% of performance in all job types
Single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace
Strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence
90% of high performers are high in EQ
You CAN increase your EQ – it is flexible and is able to change with practice!

Soft Skills Workshop WMU BTN Sept 2009

by mmace on Sep 17, 2009

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Soft Skills Workshop WMU BTN Sept 2009 — Presentation Transcript