Soft Skills
What are soft skills?
Soft skills are personal traits that can influence your relationships, communication and interactions with others. Soft skills are often referred to as “people skills” or “emotional intelligence” .These essential skills enable people to find their way around, work amicably with others, perform well and achieve their goals.
Organizations seem to expect people to know how to behave in the workplace, to take the initiative or to communicate effectively, which is often not the case. Soft skills are difficult to quantify in the CV and often not even part of the job description.
Soft skills vs. Hard Skills
Hard skills refer to the technical skills based on education, certification, training and work experience. These are skills you learn by doing the work by hand. Soft skills, on the other hand, are those that relate more to your disposition, attitude and personality.
Hard skills can be learned and perfected over time, but soft skills are harder to acquire and change.Morever, hard skills are easier to define and measure, soft skills are difficult to measure. Some of them may come to you by nature, and others may need to be studied and learned. The combination of hard skills and soft skills makes a well-rounded applicant.
Why are soft skills important?
According to Forbes, 94% of recruiters believe that top-notch soft skills outweigh experience when it comes to promotion to leadership positions. They are fundamental to getting the job you want now and essential for career growth. As automation expands, soft skills will become an even more significant differentiator to employers.
HR experts admit that “hard skills might get your resume looked at” but soft skills “help you stand out and get you hired.” You must still possess the requisite technical skills to get the job you want, but without soft skills, you can’t compete.
Highlighting your soft skills during a job search
When you fill out an application or write a resume, you usually focus on having hard skills. In many cases many jobs require soft skills application so employers look out for candidates with soft skills as well.
To highlight your soft skills, you need to start with a good long look at the job description and pulling out any qualities or characteristics they are looking for that match up well with soft skills you possess.
Is the hiring manager looking for someone who is good with customer service? That requires listening skills as well as communication skills.
What about a job where you’ll be required to work with others? That means the ideal candidate will be good with teamwork as well as leadership.
How about a career in the health field where you have to work with patients? The best candidate will be the one who can do the job and who also brings empathy to the table
Here are some important takeways to consider when putting soft skills in your resume.
You must have a section in your resume devoted entirely to your skills. This helps you pass through applicant tracking systems & get noticed by the HR manager.
The differences between hard skills and soft skills are in the way they are applied (directly vs. indirectly) and the way they are obtained (through education and practice vs. personality traits and experience)
On your resume, list only skills that are relevant to the job, scan the job listing for must-have skills and list those (if you have them), pair each skill with a responding proficiency level, back up your skills with other resume sections, mention transferable and universal skills
Below we’ve compiled a list of soft skills examples for you which will help you with preparing your own resumes, cover letters, and interviews
List of Soft Skills in the workplace
- Communication
Communication skills can be oral or written and allow you to express yourself effectively in the workplace. Communication is a critical sales skills, and is also useful in a variety of other industries — such as human resources and management. Some examples include:
Clarity
Confidence
Respect
Listening
Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication
Written communication
Openness to feedback
Friendliness
- Human/social skills
Social skills are sometimes referred to as interpersonal skills. It is a skill that defines your relationship with other people and how you approach lif. They are vital for people who work in customer service, realty, or financial planning. Examples include:
Empathy
Delegation Skills
Humor
Supervision skills
Influence/persuasion skills
Patience
Tolerance
Presenting/public speaking skills
Positive reinforcement
Diplomacy
Collaborative abilities
- Work Ethics
Work ethic is a soft skill that proves your belief in the importance of work and its ability to strengthen your character. Demonstrating work ethic should be important in every career, but is vital for first responders, teachers, and nurses. Soft skills examples related to work ethic include:
Integrity
Responsibility
Discipline
Initiative
Dependability
Commitment
Self-motivated
Professionalism
Teamwork
Time-management
4.Problem-Solving
Problem-solving abilities are a blend of using analytical and creative thinking to find solutions. Careers where problem-solving is vital include law enforcement, information technology, and medical-related fields. Types of problem-solving skills include:
Analysis
Creative thinking
Initiative
Persistence
Observation
Persuasion
Negotiation
Brainstorming
Decision making
5.Team player skills
Teamwork skills allow you to operate well in a group setting in the workplace to quickly and effectively accomplish tasks. Teamwork is crucial for careers in market research, event coordination, and software engineering. Some examples of teamwork-related skills include:
Conflict management
Delegation
Listening
Active listening
Collaboration
Cooperation
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
Negotiating
How to develop your Soft Skills
A great first step in personal development is to recognize and acknowledge the areas in which you need to improve. This can take place through personal reflection and introspection, an evaluation of your business’s performance deficiencies, or through feedback from trusted colleagues or friends. You may find that daily journaling regarding your professional interactions and their outcomes is helpful self-evaluation.
After you’ve gained an awareness of your strengths and weaknesses, create a plan of action for improvement that aligns with and supports your plan. Because soft skills encompass a relatively large category, there are a number of ways to develop or enhance these skills:
Consider working with a mentor who can provide feedback and model appropriate skills.
If your focus is on improving communication, courses in subjects like public speaking or joining a group such as Toastmasters can be helpful.
Get a coach who can help you develop high priority skills quickly.
Although it may seem deceptively simple, don’t underestimate the effect of positivity and optimism. After all, the majority of soft skills are bolstered by confidence and enthusiasm, and undermined by anxiety, insecurity, and negativity. Changing your mindset so you are able to see the positive in situations can have a significant impact on how you interact with others.
Soft skills can influence your ability to give a great presentation and communicate your speaking points effectively.
Soft skills Template
Now that you know what soft skills are, it’s time to see which of them to put on your resume.
Well, it depends. Different positions have different requirements, so the skills you’ll want to put on your resume will vary from one position to another.
This is exactly why it’s crucial for your resume to be tailored to the position you’re pursuing.
Here’s how to choose the best soft skills for a resume in six simple steps:
- Identify what soft skills employers want.
It’s easy to do this. All you need to do is take a long hard look at the job offer they posted, and note down all the skills the employer looks for.
- Make a master list of all your soft skills.
You’re free to use the lists above to get inspired. Peek into our detailed guide on resume skills to identify the ones you have.
- Compare your list to the job offer.
This is how you can identify the right soft skills to put on your resume. Remember: focus on the ones you’re great at. Leave out all the rest.
- Use the resume experience section to show your soft skills.
The trick is to work them into your resume experience bullet points. They’ll look much more powerful if you find a way to quantify them.
- Put your soft skills in your resume profile.
Show off your skills at the top of your resume. Put some in your career objective or resume summary statement.
- List your soft skills in a dedicated skills section.
You can give more prominence to your top skills by putting them in a separate resume section labeled Skills.
Let’s see what this looks like in practice. Here is an objective example.
Collaborative and dynamic business analyst with 7+ years of professional experience. Eager to support XYZ Inc. with top problem-solving and analytical skills to support the company’s strategic initiatives. In previous roles increased sales by 20% through identifying a major bottleneck and improving business processes.
Recap
Soft skills consist of personal characteristics and transferable skills that allow you to work effectively in groups. Unlike other types of skills, soft skills are an integral part of your personality and are traditionally difficult to learn. Always mark the right soft skills on your CV and adapt them to the job offer. Some of the softer skills employers are looking for are problem solving, communication, teamwork and work ethic.
While technical skills may enable job seekers have their foot in the door, people’s skills open most of the doors. Knowing how to deal with people and having a positive attitude is crucial to success. It is much easier to solve problems if you have good soft skills. These skills are not just crucial for professional success, but also promote social harmony.