How Communication Skills and Qualities Affect Your Career

Many college students believe that the most important courses they take are those in their major. Some biology majors think, for example, that if they just take that advanced course in genetic analysis, employers will conclude that they are prepared to do more-advanced projects and therefore hire them.

Therefore, many college students are surprised to learn that what employers say they are looking for in employees are the communication skills and qualities discussed in the previous section. Surveys over the past three or four decades have shown consistently that employers want people who can communicate. Look at it this way: when employers hire a biologist, they want a person who can communicate effectively about biology. When they hire a civil engineer, they want a person who can communicate about civil engineering.

A 2013 survey of 500 business executives found that almost half—44 percent—think that recent hires are weak in soft skills (including communication and collaboration), whereas only 22 percent think recent hires are weak in technical skills (Adecco Staffing US, 2013). According to another 2013 survey, by the Workforce Solutions Group at St. Louis Community College, more than 60 percent of employers believe that job seekers are weak in communication and interpersonal skills. This figure is up 10 percentage points from 2011 (TIME, 2013).

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Job Outlook 2014, a report produced by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, found that communication skills were second only to problem-solving skills among the abilities employers seek (National Association, 2014, p. 8). On a 5-point scale, communication skills scored a 4.6, as did the ability to obtain and process information. Also scoring above 4 were the ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work (4.5); the ability to analyze quantitative data (4.4); technical knowledge related to the job (4.2); and proficiency with computer software programs (4.1). The ability to create and/or edit written reports and the ability to sell or influence others scored a 3.6 and a 3.7, respectively. Most of these skills relate to the previous discussion about the importance of process in technical communication.

A 2014 study of more than 400 freelancer profiles conducted by the online grammar-checking service Grammarly found a direct correlation between the number of errors in a freelancer’s client service profile on the website Elance and that freelancer’s client rating (Grammarly, 2014). This pattern held across eight industries. Grammarly also found that in most skill-driven jobs, better writers tended to earn more money from clients. This was especially true in the fields of engineering and manufacturing, finance and management, legal, and sales and marketing.

You’re going to be producing and contributing to a lot of technical documents, not only in this course but also throughout your career. The facts of life in the working world are simple: the better you communicate, the more valuable you are. This textbook can help you learn and practice the skills that will make you a better communicator.