Soft Skills allow us to work effectively with other people, whether that means coworkers, managers or clients. These skills are fundamental to all workplaces and are an asset in any industry. However, sometimes we can overlook this valuable skillset.
It’s crucial to include your Soft Skills on your CV because these skills are often what separate good employees from great employees. Alison has a wide range of courses available to help you refine your Soft Skills and learn new ones, with certificates available on completion to prove to potential employers how Soft-Skilled you are! Here are six of the best:
Efficient communication is essential in any workplace. If we can’t communicate clearly then we can’t work together as a coherent workforce. Though our means of communicating are always evolving, the importance of clear communication has remained constant.
Leadership is not just about taking charge of a situation, it’s about reassuring those around you that things are under control. Leadership is as much about being responsible for others as is it about directing them, and is a vital Soft Skill to include on your CV.
Unless you’re a lighthouse keeper, the chances are your work will require you to work as part of a team. Being able to cooperate and work constructively with your colleagues is a must in any profession.
Sympathy and compassion are as important in the world of work as they are in any every other sphere of life. Workplaces can be stressful environments and so it’s vital that potential employers know that you have the emotional intelligence to navigate whatever situations might arise.
This is a Soft Skill that can really set you apart from other employees. While expertise and experience are important in any job, the ability to think on your feet and outside the box is also a huge advantage, and can often be what gives you the edge in a job interview.
Poor time management is something that no employer wants to see in an employee, as it can have an affect on the entire business. The flipside is that if you can manage your schedule efficiently, you not only improve your own work life, but you can improve the productivity of your workplace in general.
We recently introduced something new. Portfolio Projects are a brand-new experience within our reinvented Career Paths which launched in the fall. As part of the Front-End Engineer, Back-end Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer, and Data Scientists Paths — available to Codecademy Pro members — you’ll build your own robust, recruiter-ready portfolio projects to share when you begin your job search.
In this article we’ll take a look at how Portfolio Projects differ from other types of Codecademy Projects. We’ll show you what you can expect from the Portfolio Project experience. Plus, we’ll give you a sneak peek of some of the projects you may encounter as you make your way through the Career Path of your choice.
What makes Portfolio Projects different?
If you’ve been learning with Codecademy for awhile, you’re probably familiar with Project and Challenge Projects. You’ll find Projects at the end of modules as you learn in Codecademy. These Projects offer a lot of guidance and are designed to help you practice the concepts you’ve just learned.
We developed Challenge Projects as a next step. They also give you the opportunity to practice the concepts you’ve just learned, but with less hand-holding and guidance than Projects. While they usually contain starter code so they aren’t completely from scratch, they offer more of a challenge to figure things out on your own.
Portfolio Projects take things to the next level. They start with high-level requirements and user stories, plus a list of tasks and all the external resources and information you’ll need to be successful. But then, you’re free to go off and build projects on your own. Don’t worry, we’ll be there to offer guidance along the way if you need it. But what you build will be unique to you — and something you can feel proud sharing as you begin your job search.
How are Portfolio Projects structured?
At the end of each section of a Career Path, there’ll be a Portfolio Project based on everything you’ve learned in that section, plus the previous sections. They each build upon everything you’ve learned, so you can continue to hone your skills and practice putting all the pieces together.
The task
To kick things off, we’ll share all the information you need to complete your Portfolio Project. We’ll share an overview of the project, the information you need to get set up to complete the project (such as details for setting up a text editor or downloading any necessary files), and the tasks you’ll need to complete to create your Portfolio Project.
Tasks are housed in a Kanban board that you’ll be able to use to track progress as you complete your project. You can click on each task for more information and drag it to “In Progress” and “Done” as you progress through the project.
Getting help
If you get stuck while completing your project, you’ll have several options. For a start, you’ll also find “Hints” listed within each task on the Kanban board.
You can also check out the resources tab for each Portfolio Project. There you’ll find general advice for how to troubleshoot, like searching google or explaining the problem to a friend (rubber-ducking). Projects also have project-specific resources that are helpful, like documentation.
We also encourage you to turn to the internet for help. Try a Google search to look for answers. This is good practice for solving problems on the job in the future. You can also check out our blog post on what to do when you’re stuck on a coding problem.
If you still can’t find the answers you need, the Codecademy Forums are always at your disposal.
What types of projects can you expect to create? It depends on what Career Path you’re enrolled in (you can view a list of Portfolio Projects by Career Path here), but here’s a sneak peek at a few of the Portfolio Projects you might encounter.
Mixed Messages
If you’re doing either the Full-Stack or Back-End Engineer Career Path, the first project you’ll work on will be Mixed Messages. You’ll build a Node.js console app that generates random messages each time a user runs the program and version your project with Git/GitHub.
While everyone creates a similar random message generator, we encourage you to get creative with it and make it your own. The projects that have been created and shared with us in the Codecademy Forum so far include motivational messages, fortunes, random insults, quotes — and even a Random Potion Recipe Generator!
Personal Portfolio Website
The Personal Portfolio Website project exists in both the Full-Stack and Front-End Engineer Career Paths. For this one, you’ll actually create and deploy your very own portfolio website — a static website where you’ll be able to share your other projects.
You can check out all the Personal Portfolio Websites that have been submitted by learners so far in the Codecademy Forums. Here’s one from Christina, a JavaScript developer and one of the first learners to complete this portfolio project!
Data Scientist Final Portfolio Project
As you make your way through the Data Scientist Career Path, you’ll complete a collection of Portfolio Projects utilizing data about U.S. medical insurance costs, gross domestic product (GDP) and life expectancy, endangered animals, and more. In one Portfolio Project, you’ll test predictions using data from OKCupid — and you can check out an example of one learner’s completed project here.
Then, when you get to the end of the Career Path, you’ll have the opportunity to use everything you’ve learned to build your own project from scratch, including acquiring and cleaning your own data.
Getting started
Ready to start building your portfolio with Portfolio Projects? Simply get started on the Career Path of your choice. Click through the links below to start your journey:
I immediately understood this boy to be The One. He flirted with me more than he flirted with other girls, and sometimes even looked at me while I spoke. I wrote him love letters in the form of homework questions that could easily have been answered by any sentient rock, and my affections were reciprocated in late night Snapchats of his forehead, or, if he was being particularly bold, his forehead and one eye. Our playful back-and-forth persisted in this manner and maybe even developed into a friendship. Ultimately, I learned that if you ruin your sleep schedule in order to text a boy at night for 10 solid months, he may just ask you out.
In the shimmering light of the summer evening sky, I ate a few bites of overpriced ramen across a tiny table from a real live guy who had actually asked me out on a date. When he reached for the bill to signify that it was, in fact, a date, his hand briefly grazed mine, and I felt my cheeks flush with the distinct rosy tinge of heteronormativity. As we left the restaurant, it began to rain, and we took refuge in an ice cream shop where he once more paid for me to pretend to eat while dutifully sucking in my stomach. Summoning all my skills of seduction, I flaunted sophistication in my sultriest tone:
“This ice cream is so good that I’m, like, literally having an aneurysm,” I observed.
“Actually, I think it’s ‘burst’ an aneurysm,” he said.
My heart fluttered. He had such a way with words.
Based on every movie I had ever seen in my life, I anticipated that our intense flirtation would culminate in a kiss good night before I sped away in my dad’s visibly deteriorating 2001 Honda Civic. In our final moments together, I stared deeply into his gleaming, enigmatic gaze and, as I leaned one shoulder toward him, received a one-armed side hug and a “Bye, Leah!” that lingered uncomfortably in the air. Whether the unease in my gut stemmed from this disappointing departure or my severe IBS, I could never know. But one thing was for sure — I had done everything right. Right?
A true gentleman, he ended things a few weeks later in a two-sentence Snapchat. In a response riddled with exclamation points, I let my concern for his feelings eclipse my own. Painfully embarrassed, I dismissed myself as idiotic for believing a boy could ever like me. I knew I was to blame for equating the slightest amount of male approval with the highest standard of human decency.
I couldn’t remember where I learned to do that.
Stuck between guilt and confusion, I once again took scissors to the braid that reached halfway down my back. It’s strange; even though I consider feminism to be the most essential tenet of my existence, the whispers of the patriarchy are sometimes so soft that they sound like my own thoughts.
_________
Winners
In alphabetical order by the writer’s last name.
“Love at First Offhand Compliment” by Leah Gomez age 17, Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio, Tex.
“The Bottom of a Swimming Pool” by Annie Johnson age 15, Dublin Coffman High School, Dublin, Ohio
: a person who is not very sophisticated or interested in culture
_________
The word rube has appeared in 40 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Feb. 23 in “24 Tense Hours in Abraham Lincoln’s Life,” an interview with Edward Achorn conducted by John Williams. Achorn states:
I’ve read all these books about how Lincoln was hated, but I was still surprised by how disdained and disliked he was by so many of his contemporaries. Liberal Republicans thought he was too calculating, too quick to weigh public opinion. Democrats thought he was a tyrant, a rube, and was destroying the Constitution. I think a lot of this was airbrushed out of history after he was assassinated, when he became a martyr. But when you go back to that day and look at what people were saying, you get a stunning sense of what Lincoln was up against. There’s a lot of hostility from all sides. I’m not sure how he withstood it. I guess he was defeated so many times in his life, had been down so many times, that he was able to take almost anything.
Above is an image related to one of the news stories we followed over the past week. Do you know what it shows? At the bottom of this quiz, you’ll find the answer.
Have you been paying attention to the news recently? See how many of these 10 questions you can get right.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020 has just been released and is required reading for anyone in the job market today. The report paints a vivid picture of the future of work and documents the industries which are experiencing the greatest job growth and also the areas facing contraction.
2020 has been a critical year in many respects, with millions of workers around the world finding themselves out of a job or in an uncertain employment situation as a result of the pandemic. The coronavirus has caused enormous disruption in the normal rhythm of people’s working lives and drastically altered the route that many people saw their career path taking.
One thing that the pandemic has not affected is the trend towards workplace automation, which is occurring even faster than predicted. The Report estimates that this will result in the loss of 85 million jobs in the next five years. Continued technological advances, coupled with the more recent need for social distancing, have meant that machines and computers are taking over more jobs. According to the WEF Report, in five years, work will be divided roughly fifty-fifty between humans and machines.
However, the Report also shows that the automation revolution will create more jobs than it will displace, with 97 million new jobs entering the labour market in a variety of new areas. To help you prepare for the coming shift, Alison has put together a series of free online courses that will equip you with the skills necessary to thrive in the jobs of tomorrow.
New skills
According to the Future of Jobs Report, by 2025, “analytical thinking, creativity, and flexibility will be among the most sought-after skills.”
Analytical Thinking – This course will teach you everything you need to know about problem-solving and thinking critically in the workplace.
Creativity – Learn how to generate new concepts and build fresh ideas.
Flexibility – Manage your time successfully and be ready for whatever your workday throws at you.
The Report also notes that newly emerging sought-after skills this year are “self-management, active learning, resilience and stress tolerance.”
Self Management – Being able to motivate yourself is critical when it comes to Self-Management. This course will instruct you on how to always guarantee you give 100% at work.
Active Learning – Learn how to adopt a Growth Mindset and apply it to your learning.
Resilience – Positive Psychology is crucial if you’re to stay above water during stressful and trying situations.
Stress Tolerance – This diploma teaches you coping mechanisms to help you to deal with whatever stress your job might generate.
New Jobs
The Future of Jobs Report has identified a variety of areas that are going to see a boom in job opportunities over the next five years. Below we highlight the best courses to give you a headstart and help you succeed in these areas.
Content Creation – Jobs in writing content are growing faster than ever, particularly as businesses expand their social media presence.
Green Economy Jobs – From wind to solar to hydroelectric power, Alison can help you find a job in any of the future green sectors.
AI Economy – This course looks at how AI can be used to solve problems that result in a real economic benefit.
Engineering – Alison offers a wide range of engineering courses, ranging from traditional sectors to the industries of the future.
Cloud Computing – This course will teach you everything you need to know about online computing infrastructure for both hardware and software applications.
Product Development – Rethink the Product Development Process with this course by Steve Blank, an entrepreneur with over thirty years of experience in business management.
Care Economy – From clinical skills to diet therapy, Alison’s nursing courses will help you advance regardless of your speciality!
Sales and Marketing – Some sectors never go out of fashion. Alison has courses on Marketing Ethics, Sales Strategies and everything in between.
One of the key take-aways from the report is that “for workers set to remain in their roles over the next five years, nearly half will need retraining for their core skills.” Upskilling and retraining are not going to be optional in the workplaces of tomorrow. Alison’s learners are already a step ahead of the competition, and the above courses will help you distinguish yourself even further.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the final point in the report is that “remote work is here to stay”. The move from office to home isn’t showing any sign of reversing in the near future. To help you adapt to and thrive in the world of remote work, Alison has assembled a Working from home Toolkit, which aims to help you transition seamlessly to working from home, regardless of your career.
Valentine’s day is fast approaching, and we have something perfect for that occasion. If you struggle to come up with fun ideas for kids, we rounded up all of the free class Valentine’s day printables we’ve designed here at Designer Blogs to give you some fun & easy things to DIY.
I Spy Class Valentine Game
Listed along the edges are the items to be found; from balloons to cupcakes to roses. I’m planning on sending this Valentine with my preschooler, 2nd grader and 4th grader – it works for both boys and girls and is fun for all ages!
Class Valentine Bag Toppers
Four different designs for printable Valentine’s bag toppers. All of them in classic pink and red shades. The perfect class treats!
Dropping Down Valentine
These adorable & funny Valentine’s Bag toppers are sugar-free and loads of FUN! They will be perfect for any Valentine’s Day gift.
Don’t Ever Change Valentine
Red Bag Toppers perfect for Valentine’s Day. Download them for free and attach them to bags filled with some sweets or small gifts.
Have a Berry Good Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Fruit Strip Wrap is a great idea for a cute and healthy gift. Print them at home and use them to wrap your favorite snacks.
Valentine’s Day Maze
A-MAZE-ingly fun and free printable, perfect as a school or kindergarten Valentine’s Day. Attach crayons or send them as they are!
If you are looking for more seasonal freebies, make sure to check our free printables library
Looking for something specific?
If you have an idea for a printable, let us know in the comments! We are always looking for inspiration. If you decide to use any class Valentine’s ideas featured today, make sure to share some photos with us. You can do so by tagging us on Instagram or Twitter.
The Times has been regularly recommending interesting, enlightening and fun things to do online since the pandemic began.
What’s the best event you’ve attended virtually this year? Why? Was it a family meet-up? Gaming with friends? A concert or theater or dance performance? A class you took because you wanted to, not because you had to? Something else?
Tell us in the comments, then read the related article about things The Times recommends you try this week.
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney star in this dark comedy-drama, a cross between “Election” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The movie, directed by Cory Finley (“Thoroughbreds”), reimagines a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scandal that rocked a high school on Long Island in 2004. The mastermind behind the scheme is Frank Tassone (Jackman), the superintendent of the school district, who wins over parents and students alike with his good-natured charm. His machination lasts years, and it slowly starts to crumble only after he encourages a student journalist (Geraldine Viswanathan) to dig deeper into a puff piece she’s working on. (Big mistake.) In his review for The New York Times, Ben Kenigsberg wrote that Jackman steals the show. His role is “a plum part” and “a chance for the actor to channel his charisma toward dark, mischievous ends.”
Do you have any siblings? If yes, do you ever fight? OK, silly question; what do you and your siblings fight about when you have conflicts?
Has the pandemic made you grow closer with your brothers and sisters — or intensified the strife? Do you think that sibling rivalry is a fact of life? Or are there effective ways to reduce it?
My 4- and 8-year-old are closer now than they were before the pandemic — I hear the sounds of giggling wafting from their bedroom several times a night. But the more time my girls spend together, the more they fight, too.
The most common battlegrounds for my kids are perceived injustices and jockeying for position. The most absurd instance of the latter was when we were waiting to get flu shots this past fall. The girls got into a brawl over who received the first shot. My older daughter “won” that argument, but it was only as she was walking toward the pharmacist’s door that she realized a shot was not actually a prize.
On days when we are trapped in the house together and their screaming matches reach operatic levels, their dad and I worry we did something horribly wrong as parents to encourage this volume of strife. But according to Jeanine Vivona, a professor of psychology at the College of New Jersey who has studied sibling rivalry, “competition with siblings is just a fact of life. And we, as people with siblings and people with children, can just try to manage it as best we can.”
Ms. Grose presents five suggestions to parents from the experts to handle squabbling sibs. Here are excerpts from three:
Figure out what sets them off. “Pay attention to what tends to happen before conflict breaks out,” said Sally Beville Hunter, a clinical associate professor in child and family studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. If your kids fight every time they play video games, for example, make sure you’re in earshot when they sit down to play. Listen for the particular words or tones of voice they are using that are combative, and try to intervene before it escalates.
Help them learn to resolve conflict. Once tempers have settled, try to sit your kids down and discuss the problem “without blaming or accusing,” Feinberg advised. Give each kid a chance to talk, uninterrupted, and have them try to come up with solutions to the problem themselves. By the time kids are elementary-school age, they can “evaluate which of those solutions are win-win solutions and which ones are most likely to work and satisfy each other over time,” he said. They should also learn to revisit problems when solutions are no longer working.
Praise them in public and punish them in private. If your kids are being kind to each other, “praise really loudly all over the place,” Hunter said. For example, “I love that you let your sister go first!” But if you’re criticizing them, try to do it outside of the other child’s earshot, because she may use it as ammunition. Our older daughter will take every opportunity to boss her little sister around (“Remember, Mom said you couldn’t jump off the couch!”), so I took this bit of advice to heart.
Try to find moments where everyone can come together. Your kids’ temperaments and personalities may be similar, or they may not. They may both love dance, or one loves dance and the other just wants to play chess. One might be rigid, and the other is a free spirit. “Try to find common activities that allow everyone to be flexible, and to feel connected,” Vivona said.
How well do you get along with your siblings? What do you bond over? What do you do that gets on each others’ nerves? Do you agree that sibling rivalry is inevitable?
If you are an only child, do you wish you had brothers and sisters, or do you like being on your own? Do you have other family members or friends who fill that role? What kinds of conflicts do you experience in close relationships?
The article says that according to observational studies, sibling conflict may happen up to eight times an hour. How often do you fight with your brothers and sisters? How big a problem is sibling strife in your home? Has the level of conflict changed over your lives?
Ms. Grose says her daughters are closer now than they were before the pandemic, but they fight more too. Does that ring true for you? How has the pandemic affected your relationships with your siblings?
How do your parents respond to your conflicts? Do they help to resolve these situations? Or do they make them worse? What do you think of Ms. Grose’s advice to parents? Which strategies and approaches do you think they should use?
The author encourages parents to help their children to “come up with solutions to the problem themselves.” How good are you and your siblings at resolving conflicts on your own? What other strategies would you recommend to other parents and teenagers who might be experiencing sibling rivalries?
What’s one thing you can do to help improve relationships with your siblings?
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
