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[Applause]
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welcome to the job genius career
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exploration series brought to you by
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express Employment Professionals if you
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watch the other videos in the series
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then you already know how to set career
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goals find job opportunities write a
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winning resume prepare for a job
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interview and get ready for the first
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day of your new job but there's one more
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super important topic that we need to
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cover and that soft skills so what are
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soft skills and what's the difference
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between soft skills and hard skills well
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hard skills are things that can be
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easily measured like math the number of
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words you can type per minute or how
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well you know a certain software program
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these skills are often the kinds of
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skills that are included as job
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requirements and soft skills they're a
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little harder to define soft skills are
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all about integrating well with team
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members think of soft skills as people
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or relationship skills they say that
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hard skills may help you get the job but
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soft skills will help you get along and
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get ahead in the job in fact more and
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more hiring managers are looking for
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candidates with strong soft skills right
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from the start because a lack of soft
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skills can negatively impact
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communication and the whole work
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atmosphere bottom line a good balance of
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both hard skills and soft skills will
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increase your chances of both getting
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the job and getting ahead in the job by
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now you're probably asking yourself what
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are these nebulous soft skills that are
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so important and yet so hard to define
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well if you ask 10 hiring managers you'd
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probably get 10 different answers
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different bosses look for different
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traits based on the work environment and
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their own personal style so we'll focus
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on the soft skills that come up most
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often on hiring managers wish list
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developing soft skills is accomplished
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with awareness and practice it takes a
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commitment to adjusting your mindset
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your way of looking at how you fit into
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the relationship dynamics of your work
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environment today we'll take a look at
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five of the most sought-after soft
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skills and some tips to develop them
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they are communication skills being a
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team player a strong work ethic being
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flexible
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positive attitude so let's get the ball
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rolling with communication skills
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communication skills are the most sought
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after soft skill by bosses and hiring
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managers you may not realize it but that
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one ability covers a lot of ground think
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about it for a second
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communication is about listening first
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how you express yourself the ability to
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persuade others your presentation style
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and calmly explaining what you need so
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first let's talk about how to be a good
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listener in the professional world they
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call it active listening we all know
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life is full of interruptions it seems
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like there are always multiple
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distractions competing for our attention
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I get it
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that's why it's so important to put all
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that aside and focus your attention when
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someone speaks you being a good listener
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begins with good eye contact that lets
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the speaker know they have your full
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attention do your best not to interrupt
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with questions or comments until the
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person speaking has come to a stop and
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be conscious of the message your body
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language is sending I'll show you what I
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mean I'll play the director and Chris
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will play me hey Chris I wanted to talk
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to you about next week's booking the
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client changed a time and location I'll
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get you the address tomorrow but you'll
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have to be there at 8 a.m. instead of 9
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a.m. I wanted to thank you for being
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flexible I'll talk later see how your
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body can say a lot even if you don't
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speak a single word if this had been a
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real situation do you think right about
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now that director will be thinking about
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someone to replace Chris it wouldn't
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surprise me always be mindful that your
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body language is sending a message
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whether positive or negative so make
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good eye contact and actively listen
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with the intent of really hearing the
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message to develop understanding and
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clarity let's talk about clarity we all
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interpret information differently what
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may mean one thing to one person could
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mean something entirely different to
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another so what can you do if you're on
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the receiving end of communication the
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best way to seek clarity is to ask
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questions don't guess or assume just ask
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trust me people won't think less of you
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just because you ask a question as a
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matter of fact studies show that
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managers actually think people who ask
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questions are smart
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people who don't the reason they say
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people who ask questions show they value
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the bosses expertise so ask away
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remember be an active listener to
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minimize the number of questions this
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will save time for you and your boss
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it's also okay to ask for the things you
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need to get your job done for example
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ask your boss when he or she meets the
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assignment completed if you already have
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too much on your plate ask your boss
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which of the tasks is the most important
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to complete first doing this shows your
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boss that you're willing to be proactive
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in order to keep your work moving
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forward and when it comes to time off
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work communication is critical don't
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wait until the last minute be sure to
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request time off well in advance to give
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your boss plenty of time to cover your
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absence this goes for vacation time as
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well as doctor appointments and other
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personal time okay now you have an idea
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of how to be a good communicator the
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next soft skill we'll talk about is
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being a good team player
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you know there's really no job that
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doesn't involve working with other
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people at least in some capacity like
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the old saying goes you need to learn to
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work and play well with others no doubt
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working on a team can be a challenge but
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being a good team player will help you
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get ahead in your career when you find
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yourself in a team situation on the job
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keep those things in mind know the goal
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and know your role it's important to
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understand the objective of your team
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and the part you play in achieving its
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goal it's also important to understand
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the responsibilities of the team members
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and how you interact with them to meet
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your goal every team is made of
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different personalities so it's
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important to remember that each person
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has their own unique work style just
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because someone style is different than
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yours doesn't mean it's wrong learn to
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appreciate different viewpoints and be
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open to altering your point of view
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keeping an open mind and being receptive
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to a different way of doing things will
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not only make you a great team player
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it'll also pave the way for your team's
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success if you think someone on the team
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isn't pulling their weight it may be due
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to a lack of experience or knowledge
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they may lack confidence in their
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ability don't waste your energy worrying
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about who's doing their fair share of
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the work focus on your responsibilities
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first
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if you think you can take on additional
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duties or help someone who seems to be
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struggling approach your team leader and
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offer to help show that you're a strong
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team player and who knows you may make
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the move from team player to team leader
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in no time the next soft skill on our
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list of highly sought traits is having a
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strong work ethic so what exactly is a
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work ethic well
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it's loosely defined as a set of values
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based on self-discipline and dedication
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to your work it involves perseverance
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focus meeting deadlines and doing the
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job right perseverance is the ability to
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stick to a task and see it through to
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completion developing perseverance is
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like training to run a race it's working
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toward a goal failing getting back up
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and trying again until you succeed also
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crucial to the developing strong work
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ethic is focus
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do your best to eliminate distractions
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put your phone away
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turn off social media and email
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notifications once you've done your best
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to eliminate distractions set a specific
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amount of time to work on a task then
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get in the zone the next aspect of
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developing your work ethic is meeting
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deadlines also called do it now and that
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means don't procrastinate it's been said
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that sometimes later becomes Never
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so do yourself in your career a favor
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and get it done but hold on a minute you
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won't do yourself any favors if you get
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the job done but don't get it done right
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it's a matter of quality over quantity
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after all you may get that report done
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quickly but if it's full of typos and
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grammatical errors that's just not gonna
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look good or say you built a beautiful
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piece of furniture but the legs are
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wobbly and uneven it may look good but
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it's just not really functional to get
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the job done right you have to allow
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time to get the work done and then allow
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a bit more time to review and refine so
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work to develop your perseverance and
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focus do the job now and do the job
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right and you'll cultivate a strong work
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ethic that will appeal to any employer
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the next soft skill we'll talk about is
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flexibility
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flexibility is the willingness to
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respond to changing circumstances being
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flexible makes you more valuable
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employee and it opened you up to
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learning new things which could
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ultimately lead to greater opportunity
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keep in mind it's not necessary to know
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exactly how to do the new task like an
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expert but your willingness to accept
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new responsibilities and learn different
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things will elevate your status in the
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eyes of your leaders step outside of
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your comfort zone and don't let Ridgid
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habits bring you crashing down last on
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our list of highly sought soft skills is
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a positive attitude it is said that
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there are a lot of things you can't
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change like other people and some
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situations at work but there's one thing
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you're always in control of and that's
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your attitude there are many benefits to
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maintaining a positive attitude it will
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improve your relationships both at work
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and in your personal life it will help
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your chances of success you'll be
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happier and make better decisions and
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studies show that people with a positive
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attitude actually live longer than
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grumpy grouchy people there's an old
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saying laugh and the world will laugh
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with you cry and you cry along and
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that's pretty much true because people
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gravitate toward positivity now I know
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it's not always easy to keep a sunny
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disposition but there are some things
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you can do to help create and maintain a
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positive attitude for instance don't
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wait for someone or something to make
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you happy
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when you choose to have a positive
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attitude good things will happen
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happiness is a frame of mind not a
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situation and it rubs off on the people
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around you practice positive self-talk
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in other words psych yourself up use
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that little voice inside your head to
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encourage yourself and talk yourself
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through tough situations tell yourself
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things like I've got this I can do it
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things are gonna be fine and finally do
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your best to cut out complaining when
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you complain you're really just putting
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out negative energy that doesn't help
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you or your coworkers and no one likes
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to be around someone like that instead
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of complaining focus on offering
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possible solutions and in cases in which
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you can't do anything about the
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situation it's best to say nothing and
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accept the fact that there are some
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things you just can't change
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well there's just one more short subject
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to cover before we wrap things up okay
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it's not really a soft skill but it will
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drastically affect the way you're
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perceived in your workplace it's a
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little thing literally speaking but it's
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often the source of major controversy
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and that little thing is your cell phone
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our phones are part of our everyday
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lives they're our constant companions or
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link to friends family the world but at
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work they can be seen as a distraction a
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time waster and a Productivity killer
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many companies have policies in place
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that state when and where employees may
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use their personal phones always know
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the policy before you whip out that
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mobile phone and if you're allowed to
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have your phone on the job use good
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judgment on when and where to use it
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with that in mind here are a few
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workplace phone tips we gathered from
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bosses and managers number one at work
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always give a hundred percent of your
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attention to a person boss or co-worker
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who's speaking
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never answer a call or text when you're
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in conversation with someone else that's
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completely disrespectful to the person
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who needs your attention if you work
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around others set your phone to silent
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to vibrate if you need to answer and
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make a personal phone call find
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someplace where you won't be a
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distraction like a break room hint that
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place should never be a restroom avoid
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being distracted by every notification
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that comes your way place and keep your
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phone face down or out of sight like in
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a locker drawer or purse you can catch
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up on your texts and calls during your
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break or after work when you're on the
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job your first priority should be work
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you'll gain respect when you show your
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boss that you're engaged in your work
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and not easily distracted well that's
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gonna do it for soft skills in the
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workplace but it's by no means the
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be-all end-all list of soft skills that
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will help you succeed in the workplace
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and in life the more time you spend on
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the job the more you'll figure out which
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soft skills will help you most on your
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path to growth and success you're in
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this for the long run
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so keep learning keep asking questions
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and keep developing the skills that will
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get you to the place you want to be
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thanks for watching the job Genius
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education series is presented by express
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Employment Professionals visit Express
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Pearl's comm to learn more your future
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awaits
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being a job genius is in your future
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watch all the videos to get you started
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on your path to a great job
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[Music]
