ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR SUCCESS-EMPLOYMENT SKILL-FITTER ONLINE NOTE

Self-Awareness: -

Self-awareness means recognition of ‘self’ and of our character, our strengths and weaknesses, our likes and dislikes. 

Empathy: -

It is the ability to understand what life is like for another person, even in a situation with which we may not be familiar. 

Critical Thinking: -

It is the ability to analyse information and experiences in an objective manner. 

Decision Making: -

It helps us to deal constructively with important issues in our lives and take appropriate action. 

Problem Solving: -

It helps us to deal constructively with problems in our lives. 

Interpersonal Skills: -

It helps us to relate in positive ways with the people with whom we interact. 

Effective Communication: -

It means that we are able to express ourselves clearly and effectively both verbally and non-  verbally, in ways that are appropriate to our cultures and situations. This means being able to express our opinions and desires, and also our needs and fear. 

Coping with Stress: -

It means recognizing the source of stress in our lives, recognising how stress affects us and acting in ways that help us control these levels of stress by changing our environment or lifestyle and by learning how to relax. 

Dealing with Emotions: -

It means recognizing our emotions as well as those of others, being aware of how emotions influence behavior, and being able to respond to emotions appropriately. Intense emotions like anger or sadness can have an effect on our health if we do not respond appropriately.

• Values based decision making, Dilemma situations

Value-based decision making is a method for making critical decisions in an informed and timely manner. As critical decisions often directly affect the value generated or lost. 

Importance of Value in taking decision 

Your values form the foundation of your life. They dictate the choices you make and determine the direction that your life takes. Your values will influence your decisions related to your relationships, career, and other activities you engage in.

 

Some dilemma situations based on Values 

-Balancing Family Life with Educational Responsibilities -Professional Life Versus Family Life -Medical care versus Societal beliefs -To cheat or not to cheat is the question -Offering Customer, a worse product for your own profit.

• Customer Interaction Service  

Communicate: 

As a key to any good relationship, communication is an essential way to build customer relationships. Promoting your business and listening to your customers are equally important.  

Rather than just telling customers about your business, have conversations with them. Find out what your customers need, then show them that you have a solution to their problem. 

If you have employees, teach them how to effectively communicate with customers. Instead of waiting for customer service to become a problem, foster communication skills with customers while on boarding employees. 

Ask for feedback: 

Whether customers have a good or bad opinion about your business, they will make their feelings known. Invite customer feedback to show you are listening. Place comment cards on your business counter, or conduct a survey. Customer feedback helps you hone your customers’ specific needs so you can find the best solutions to their problems. The better your offering meets their needs, the more your business will grow. 

Connect: 

With technology, there are more ways to begin conversations with your customers than ever before. There are many online tools and social media outlets you can use to reach customers. 

When you engage with customers online, be careful not to create a one-way conversation. Ask customers questions, and respond to their inquiries. 

Show appreciation: 

Reward long-time customers with a loyalty discount program. You can hand out reward cards, or use a loyalty program app to track customer rewards. 

Loyalty: 

With a loyalty program, customers earn points for buying your goods or services. After earning a certain number of points, the customer gets a reward. For example, you could reward a customer with a discount on their next purchase . 

What is probing? 

Probing is the skill of questioning to uncover customer needs & concerns. 

Probing – 

generally a probe is an action is taken or an object used for the purpose of knowing the exact reason of customers’ needs or dissatisfaction. Generally, it is a bunch of question that are asked in sequence or in order to specify the understanding of a customer. 

Why do we need to do probing? 

• To Build relationship with the customer & gather information. 

• To Understand the need of the customer. 

• To Illuminate your customers’ hidden needs and requirements. 

• For Direct conversation. 

• To Increase Customers’ comfort zone. 

• To Help the customers to be specific for their real needs .

Tips of asking questions:-

1- Open Probes .

2- Closed Probes .

3- Supporting Probes.

OPEN PROBES: 

When you begin your dialogue with a potential customer or prospect you want to encourage them to respond freely with open probes.  

Example: 

What are the main reasons you chose to shop today? 

Where did you look before coming to our store? 

How did you find us? 

How soon will you be shopping with us again? 

CLOSED PROBES: 

When you want to limit the range of the customer’s response to a yes or no answer, or to a choice of alternatives you supply, you will want to use a closed probe.   

Example: 

Do you like our service? 

Do you like this (new/different) the feature that our product provides? 

Would you come in again on Monday or Tuesday?   

SUPPORT PROBES: 

Lastly, when you feel you have uncovered and have a clear understanding of a customer need you will want to use a supporting probe, where you acknowledge the need and introduce benefits that satisfy that need.  If you have used probing properly, you will now be in a position to summarize the benefits that the customer accepted during the call and formulate an action plan to get the customer’s commitment to continue to earn their business. 

You provide information about how you can satisfy a customer’s needs (features and benefits.)  

• Maintaining Efficiency at workplace 

What is personal Financial Literacy? 

• Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively apply various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.  • Financial literacy helps individuals become self-sufficient so that they can achieve financial stability. 

Saving 

. It is income not spent, or deferred consumption. 

• Methods of saving include putting money aside in, for example, a deposit account, a pension account, an investment fund, or as cash.  

• Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs.  

Tax -It is money that people have to pay to the government.  

The money you pay in taxes goes to many places. In addition to paying the salaries of government workers, your tax dollars also help to support common resources, such as police, firefighters. Tax money helps to ensure the roads you travel on are safe and well- maintained. Taxes fund public libraries and parks. 

How to save income tax? 

Tax deduction methods 

There is a host of entire legitimate ways of saving tax under the Income Tax Act, 1961. These include tax-saving mutual funds, NPS, insurance premiums, medical insurance, and many others. In this article, we cover all the major tax deductions under the Income Tax Act: 

A.1. Use up your Rs 1.5 lakh limit under Section 80C 

The below-mentioned investments/deductions are all subject to a cap of Rs 1.5 lakh. In other words, they are either/or investments and making one type of investment will reduce room for another: 

1.Tax-Saver FDs: 

You can get a tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under 5-year tax-saver FDs. They carry a fixed rate of interest currently between 7-8%. The interest on these FDs is taxable 

2. PPF (Public Provident Fund): 

Public Provident Fund is a government established savings scheme with a tenure of 15 years available at most banks and post offices in India. Its rate changes every quarter but is currently 8%. The interest on PPF is tax-free. 

3. ELSS Funds: 

These are mutual funds that invest a minimum of 80% of their assets in equity. They have a lock-in of 3 years. The returns on ELSS funds are subject to Long Term Capital Gains Tax (LTCG) at 10%, over and above an exemption limit of Rs 1 lakh. 

4. NSC (National Saving Certificate): 

A National Savings Certificate has a tenure of 5 years and a fixed rate of interest. The rate is currently 8%. The interest on NSC is also automatically counted towards the Rs 1.5 lakh 80C limit and is tax-deductible if no other investments are using up the limit. 

5. Life Insurance Premiums: 

Premiums for different types of insurance policies including ULIPs, term insurance, and endowment policies are tax deductible up to Rs 1.5 lakh. However, the insurance cover must be at least 10 times the annual premium. 

6. National Pension System (NPS): 

This deduction is available under Section 80CCD up to Rs 1.5 lakh for contributions to NPS. This is over and above the Rs 50,000 deduction available under Section 80CCD(1B) discussed below. 

7. Home Loan Repayment: 

Repayment of the principal amount on a home loan is tax deductible up to Rs 1.5 lakh per annum. 

8. Payment of tuition fees: 

Payment of tuition fees for your children is tax deductible up to Rs 1.5 lakh per annum. 

9. EPF: 

Under the EPF Act. 12% of the pay of employees in the organised sector is deducted towards the Employees Provident Fund. This deduction counts towards the Rs 1.5 lakh limit under Section 80C. 

10. Senior Citizens Savings Scheme: 

Contribution to the SCSS is tax deductible up to Rs 1.5 lakh. SCSS has a tenure of 5 years and is available to those above 60. The rate for S.C.S.S is higher than prevailing FD rates and is currently 8.7% (it is taxable). 

11.Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: 

Parents of a girl child below the age of 10 can get this deduction. This account has a tenure of 21 years or until the girl marries after turning 18. It has an interest above prevailing rates (currently 8.5%) and the interest is tax-free. 

A. 2) Contribute to the National Pension System 

This deduction under Section 80 C.C.D(1 B) up to Rs 50,000 is only available for contributions to the N.P.S. The N.P.S allows you to invest in equity and debt pension funds and build a retirement corpus. You can withdraw it at age 60. 

A.3) Pay Health Insurance Premiums 

A deduction up to Rs 25,000 is available for health insurance premiums under Section 80 D. This is over and above the deductions listed above. For senior citizens, this limit is increased to Rs 50,000. A person contributing health insurance for himself and senior citizen parents can avail of the combined deduction up to Rs 75,000 per annum. 

A. 4) Get a deduction on your rent 

You can claim a tax deduction on your House Rent Allowance (H R A) if you get H R A. There is no upper limit for this but there are a set of rules that cap the maximum H R A deduction. If you do not get HRA but pay rent, you can claim a deduction under Section 80 G G up to Rs 60,000 per annum. 

A. 5) Get a deduction on the interest on your home loan 

If you have a home loan, the interest payable on it is tax deductible under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act up to Rs 2 lakh per annum. If you give out the house on rent, there is no upper limit. However, the total loss that can be claimed on the broader head of income from house property is capped at Rs 2 lakh. 

A. 6) Keep some money in your savings account 

This is probably the easiest deduction under the Income Tax Act that individuals can claim. Interest on savings accounts is tax-free up to Rs 10,000 per year under Section 80 T T A. This limit is Rs 50,000 for senior citizens for both FD and savings account interest under Section 80 T T B. 

A. 7) Contribute to charity 

You can get a tax deduction on your charitable donations. There is no upper limit but different rules restrict the tax deduction amount available on your charitable contributions. For most donations to NGOs, the limit is 50% of the donated amount and up to 10% of your adjusted total income. NGOs under this section are required to have an 80 G certificate for you to be able to claim this deduction. 

• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan jyoti Bima Yojana(PMJJBY) 

P.M.J.J.B.Y 

It is a one-year life insurance scheme, renewable from year to year, offering coverage for death. The cover under P.M.J.J.B.Y is for death only and hence benefit will accrue only to the nominee. P.M.J.J.B.Y is a pure term insurance policy, which covers only mortality with no investment component.

 

Eligibility:  

In the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account who give their consent to join / enable auto-debit.  

Document Required: 

Bank account with auto debit facility, Adhara would be the primary K.Y.C for the bank                                

Life cover :                  

One year period stretching from 1st June  to 31st May   

Risk coverage :           

Under this scheme is for Rs. 2 Lakh  

Premium :                   

Rs. 330 per annum which is to be auto-debit  

The scheme is being offered by Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers who are willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with banks for this purpose. 

P.M.J.J.B.Y is a one-year life insurance scheme, renewable from year to year, offering coverage for death. The cover under P.M.J.J.B.Y is for death only and hence benefit will accrue only to the nominee. P.M.J.J.B.Y is a pure term insurance policy, which covers only mortality with no investment component. 

• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana 

Highlights of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (P.M.S.B.Y – Scheme 1 – for Accidental Death Insurance) are: 

Eligibility: 

I.C.I.C.I Bank Savings Bank (SB) Account holders between 18 years (completed) and 70 years (age nearer birthday) who give their consent to join / enable auto-debit, as per the modality, will be enrolled into the scheme. 

Policy period: 

The cover shall be for one year starting from June 1 to May 31 of next year. For the Saving Account holder joining on or after June 1, the cover shall commence from the date of premium debit and end on May 31 of next year. 

Premium: Rs. 12 per annum. 

Payment Mode: 

The premium will be directly auto-debited by the Bank from the subscriber’s savings account held with the Bank. This is the only mode available. For renewal of the policy, it will be auto debited between May 25 and May 31, unless the customer has given a cancellation request to the Bank for the policy. 

Risk Coverage: 

Total coverage (sum-insured) under the scheme is Rs. 2 Lakh. 

• JOB VS CAREER 

Career plan  

Step 1: Know Yourself 

Step 2: Explore Options 

Step 3: Get Ready 

Step 4: Take Action