Ten Gigs for Social Butterflies

By Selena Dehne, JIST Publishing

In diapers, you were the baby who excitedly greeted everyone -- even strangers. In the classroom, you were notorious for chatting incessantly with your neighbors causing the teacher to re-arrange the seating chart practically on a weekly basis. And at parties, you always seem to find yourself at the center of a group, all eyes on you. You can't help it; being a social butterfly just comes naturally.

Not only will being great with people ensure that your social calendar is always packed, it's a skill that's essential for a variety of today's most promising jobs. In fact, the number-one skill set being used by the fastest-growing jobs in the nation are social skills, according to Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., co-author of 150 Best Jobs for Your Skills (JIST-2008). Shatkin believes a person's skill set can be one of the most influential factors in career exploration and planning.