Soft Skills for Success

People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success by IBM.


Certification Link/Proof


Introduction

Develop key people and soft skills to boost professional and personal success. This course covers collaboration, effective communication, problem solving, interpersonal skills, and quality work delivery.

Corporateses translation: People skills are important in every role even technical ones. You don't get to hide behind your technical expertise and ignore it.


Why I Took It

I completed this course to strengthen foundational soft skills essential for teamwork, leadership, and professional growth. These skills complement technical expertise by improving communication, collaboration, and problem-solving effectiveness in professional environments.


Now, Why I Actually Took It

Let’s be real: I’m more comfortable breaking buffer overflows than giving presentations. This course was about rounding out professional skills that don’t come naturally to technical people. I needed to improve communicating clearly, presenting confidently, and collaborating effectively (respect for the Oxford comma).

Security work isn’t just technical. You have to explain vulnerabilities to non-technical stakeholders, present findings to executives, and work with teams across different skill levels. This course formalized skills I was learning on the job anyway.

Practical outcome: I can now explain SQL injection to my grandma (well, almost, at least my mom). Presenting purple team analysis posts is easier. Team collaboration is smoother. Not the flashiest class, but useful.


Modules

The course covered six modules. Here’s the official breakdown, if you want to know:

  1. Collaborate Effectively for Professional Success.
  2. Present with Purpose: Create/Deliver Effective Presentations.
  3. Delivering Quality Work with Agility.
  4. Solving Problems with Creative and Critical Thinking.
  5. Developing Interpersonal Skills.
  6. People and Soft Skills Assessment.



Tips & Lessons Learned

  • Practice active listening in all interactions.
  • Apply learned frameworks for teamwork and collaboration.
  • Build presentations with clarity, confidence, and audience engagement in mind.
  • Approach problem-solving with structured creativity and critical thinking.
  • Use small exercises to reinforce interpersonal and communication skills.


Outcome/Status

  • Verification available upon request.