Instead of attending regularly scheduled classes, students in the Jack C. Massey College of Business spent the day honing their soft skills at the annual Power Skills Conference, Feb. 14.
Showcasing the College’s strong impetus for professional development and career readiness, the comprehensive, one-day conference focused on identifying and developing “soft skills” or “power skills” including networking, communication, leadership and teamwork.
“Investing in yourself is what today is all about,” College of Business Dean Sarah Gardial said in her opening address. “We've cleared the deck of classes so we can come and talk about the really important stuff in terms of what is going to get you ahead and lead to success once you leave us and go out into your career path.”
The conference began with a keynote address from Brittany Cole, author of Thrive Through It and CEO of Career Thrivers. Cole emphasized the importance of soft skills in the workplace, noting that sharpening your soft skills can be leveraged as a competitive advantage over artificial intelligence which is becoming increasingly pervasive.
According to a Goldman Sachs report, 25% of the workforce is currently being impacted by automation.
“We have to get comfortable working with artificial intelligence,” Cole said. “Not pretending that it doesn’t exist and that it’s not going to have a similar impact on our lifestyle that the internet does today. Power skills are our human advantage and the difference maker in the adaptable age of AI.”
The Power of Soft Skills
The Massey College of Business’s Career Development Center uses the eight career competencies identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers as a framework for equipping students with the right resources and tools to be successful upon entering the workforce.
“We’re infusing these career competencies across curricular and co-curricular programs,” said Senior Director of the Business Career Development Center Lori LeBleu. “We have found that our industry partners, firms, employer and organizations, across the board, are looking for soft skills.”
The top three skills listed on LinkedIn’s Most In-Demand Skills for 2024 were all soft skills: communication, customer service and leadership.
“Discipline-specific technical skills and knowledge is great, but what employers really worry about missing in hires directly leaving college campuses are teamwork, communication and various soft skills,” LeBleu added.
In 2022, the College of Business hosted its first Power Skills Conference as a singular keynote address. Since then, the conference has grown to include 26 events including a keynote address, breakout sessions and one-on-one coaching sessions with recruiters and alumni, totaling more than 550 attendees.
“I think Belmont has done a really great job of preparing us in the classroom to take on the workforce in terms of hard skills,” junior marketing and supply chain management double major Ava Edwards said. “This is a great opportunity to practice being in the workforce, to meet people and have discussions about things that we might not necessarily get to cover in the classroom.”
Breakout sessions ranged from personal and professional branding for one’s career to purposeful networking and teamwork essentials. Associate Professor Entrepreneurship and Management Dr. José Gonzaléz led a session titled “Entrepreneurial Mindset – Personal Business Model U.”
“While we often use the word ‘entrepreneur’ to describe someone who starts a new business, we want our students to focus on the development of an ‘entrepreneurial mindset,’” Gonzalez explained. “The entrepreneurial mindset is a skill that’s coveted by all, especially employers who want to hire graduates who are able to identify opportunities and employ the entrepreneurial process to exploit those opportunities.”
Students connected with alumni and employers at networking sessions with representatives from companies including AllianceBernstein, Caterpillar Financial, Dell Technologies, HCA Healthcare, among others.
Increased engagement and overall growth of the Power Skills Conference reflects the College of Business’s commitment to preparing students for the workforce as professors teach hard skills in the classroom and the program develops soft skills that ensure student success.
