Perfecting Soft Skills for a Successful Career

When you consider which higher education degree to pursue and what your future career will be, developing hard skills such as data analysis, digital skills, and project management can be critical to your success. But did you know that employers consider an applicant’s soft skills equally as important to their hard skills? In today’s world, employers of all industries, including hospitality management, are finding that too many entry-level graduates lack the critical soft skills such as problem solving, communication, empathy, and leadership that are needed to succeed in the field. Thus, individuals with solid soft skills are increasingly in high demand. While any reputable business management school will be able to offer the hard skills you need, a hospitality school will give you both the necessary hard skills for hospitality management as well as excellence in soft skills. 

How do you learn the soft skills that are so highly valued by employers?  

If you are considering whether to pursue a degree in hospitality management vs. a business degree, consider the results of a 2022 QS Global Employer Survey 1 of 26,742 international employers, which found that those graduating from a hospitality school outperform business management school graduates in soft skills. Those skills commonly cited include creativity, interpersonal dynamics and communication, adaptability, personal time management, networking, confidence in public speaking, negotiation skills, language skills, conflict resolution, and building effective relationships for thriving in a dynamic organization.  

Soft skills are important to your career success because people are naturally social beings who need each other to survive and thrive in life. Soft skills are what will give an aspiring hospitality manager the leg up on business peers. 

Emotional intelligence is a strong component of soft skills, because managers with high emotional intelligence can understand and manage their own and others’ emotions in positive ways, respect healthy boundaries, and empathize with others, thereby handling conflict more constructively.  

Teams with strong soft skills have healthier relationships and share knowledge openly, resulting in fewer conflicts, higher productivity, and the ability to meet deadlines. If you’re an aspiring small business owner, for example, good soft skills can help you more easily attract and retain staff and clients alike. 

Why is a hospitality management education at Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS) uniquely suited for developing these critical soft skills? 

In December 2022, Business Insider International published an online article with the surprising title: “Gen Z lacks the communication and networking skills needed for the workforce. Companies need to train them.”3 

On the contrary, we at SHMS feel strongly that most people are fully capable of the soft skills necessary for success, especially with proper training and education in school. With a hospitality degree at SHMS, you are set to learn these skills right here, during your hospitality studies.  

While most schools are too focused on teaching information, data, and various subject matter, they do not teach critical people skills. But in our hospitality management program, learning how to positively interact with other people is not taken for granted; it is a top learning objective of every course and internship experience. SHMS emphasizes practical lessons, teaching empathy and consideration of others – whether it is with project teammates or towards clients – heavily relying on team harmony and problem-solving. In addition, our international staff and diverse student body offer a rich environment for multicultural communication and cultural understanding that is so important to succeed in hospitality management. 

As Vice President at Swiss Education Group, Ronan Fitzgerald, says:

Hospitality lives where people connect. It’s about the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Hospitality is about people and is at the heart of good business. At the core of hospitality education is the desire to create a unique and unforgettable experience in which people feel valued, welcomed, and cared for. 

As a result of all your experiences at SHMS, when you graduate, you will start your career confident that you have all the hard and soft skills you need to not only succeed, but to excel in your new ventures. The high level of success of SHMS graduates around the globe is proof that this learning objective has been highly refined, tested, and proven in the real world of hospitality. 

Download the SHMS brochure to learn more about SHMS hospitality degrees and how you can improve your soft skills for your career advancement.   

References 

1. https://www.qs.com/why-are-hospitality-graduates-out-performing-business-graduates-in-soft-skills/ 

2. https://www.nsls.org/blog/how-the-pandemic-impacted-gen-z-soft-skills 

3. https://workforceinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/meet-gen-Z-hopeful-anxious-hardworking-and-searching-for-inspiration.pdf 

4. https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-communication-and-networking-skills-work-2022-12