Companies are always on the search for different types of skills and experience that best suits the company. These companies, when hiring workers, look out for certain soft skills in their potential hire.
Soft skill refers to those attributes, qualities, habits, attitudes, and social behaviors that a professional employee possesses, which makes it easy to work with him or her. They are less specialized in a specific field are required across different career fields.
Unlike hard skills, soft skills are intangible and can be developed and nurtured with time. Hence, they are also called transferable skills. They have little to do with your qualification and more to do with your personality.
Top 10 soft skills to demonstrate
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Communication skills
Do you communicate well with people at your place of work, your employers, your colleagues, your clients, and your customers? It’s also important to ask yourself questions such as:
- Do you understand them?
- Vice versa; they understand you?
- Are you polite and do you treat people with respect?
- Do you speak with clarity?
As you see, you need communication skills for every kind of job. Listening is an important aspect of communication that every employer looks out for in a potential employee. Your customers and clients as well will benefit from this skill.
Learn more about communication interview questions and how to answer them!
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Leadership
Even when you are not a manager, leadership is a skill you should possess as an employee. Leadership is a skill that encompasses other soft skills. It is a skill that confers on one the ability to lead others while at the same time, meeting the mission and goals of the organization. It gives you the ability to make decisions and step up to resolve difficult situations.
Other leadership-related skills include listening, humility, honesty, kindness, selflessness, and versatility.
Learn more about leadership interview questions and how to answer them!
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Problem-solving
This involves the use of a combination of analytical thinking, creative thinking, and critical thinking to solve problems. It involves approaching problems with calmness and not freaking out in the face of problems or challenges. Problem-solving also involves teamwork. You might have to collaborate with others to solve a problem and achieve a better result.
Learn more about problem-solving interview questions and how to answer them!
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Flexibility
People are often scared of change and would rather stick to their comfort zone. Flexibility involves the readiness to accept change and learn new things. You should be open-minded to new techniques, new tasks, and new technologies. It goes hand in hand with adaptability which is the ability to adjust to changes.
Related: 10 Initiative Skills and How to Develop Them
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Teamwork
You should be able to collaborate with others and get along very well with fellow employees. Depending on the size of the company, the high chances are that you will be placed in a team. Even if you are not the leader, you will need teamwork skills to work with other team members so you all can achieve the goals of the team.
As a team member, you need to be sensitive to the needs of others and should be ready to take responsibility for your actions.
Learn more about teamwork interview questions and how to answer them!
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Positivity
Positivity is needed around the workplace. When things are not going the way, it is meant to, or the way it is expected to go, being positive will go a long way to help. Employees need to develop a positive attitude to work even when it is not pleasant. When you have a positive attitude, you will be able to lift the downcast spirit of others and motivate them to forge ahead with work.
It involves being energetic, confident, enthusiastic, honest, friendly, a good sense of humor, and respectful.
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Time management
Work in every company comes with a deadline; sometimes the tasks are one with urgent deadlines. In such a situation, you will need to summon up your time management skills in order to beat the deadline. It has to do with the ability to think clearly and, at the same time, make fast decisions. It also has to do with working under pressure, and you will need your organizational skills here as well.
Learn more about time management interview questions and how to answer them!
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Conflict resolution and negotiation
This is a very useful skill for every employer. Every employer would want an employee that would handle certain unpleasant cases and scenarios even in their (the employer’s) absence. They would like it when an employee takes charge of a bad situation and puts it under control. The major skills required here are negotiation and persuasion skills. You, however, need wisdom and sensitivity to deal with issues and to settle issues amicably without partiality.
Learn more about conflict resolution interview questions and how to answer them!
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Work ethic
Work ethic is important for every job and career as it demonstrates a strong belief in work and its ability to strengthen one’s character. A strong work ethic would make sure an employee is punctual, focused, and organized, and deliver tasks on time. Employees with strong work ethics can work both dependently and independently.
Some other skills linked with work ethics include dedication, independence, dependence, organization skills, Persistence, motivation, multitasking, punctuality, and planning.
Learn more about work ethic interview questions and how to answer them!
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Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills are essential for people who work, especially under the customer care unit. They are those skills you constantly use when communicating with people at your place of work. Examples of such skills include public speaking, positive attitude, empathy, patience, humor diplomacy, and sensitivity.
Why do you need soft skills?
A good number of employers believe that highly valuable soft skills outweigh working experience, especially as relates to leadership positions. It is a basic requirement for you to get jobs. With hard skills, employees know you are qualified for a job and might shortlist you for an interview, but soft skills are what make you stand out from the crowd.
Many people could have a degree in a particular field but not all will have the communication skills, positive attitude, leadership skills, time management skills, flexibility skills, and analytical skills needed to function effectively in that job position.
Listing your soft skills in your resume
For you to land your target job, it is necessary you take a good look at your resume and possibly get it revamped. Now, you know how important your soft skills are to your job application, you should have them listed on your resume. Consider the ones that are more related to the job you are applying for and list them from the highest to the least of them. Make sure you get yourself prepared to highlight each of them during your interview.
Job Interview Topics – Common Job Interview Questions & Answers
Below, you can find a list of common job interview topics. Each link will direct you to an article regarding the specific topics that discuss commonly asked interview questions. Furthermore, each article discusses why the interviewer asks these questions and how you answer them!
- Accomplishments
- Adaptability
- Admission
- Behavioral
- Career Change
- Career Goals
- Communication
- Competency
- Conflict Resolution
- Creative Thinking
- Cultural Fit
- Customer Service
- Direct
- Experience
- Government
- Graduate
- Growth Potential
- Honesty & Integrity
- Illegal
- Inappropriate
- Job Satisfaction
- Leadership
- Management
- Entry-Level & No experience
- Performance-Based
- Personal
- Prioritization & Time Management
- Problem-solving
- Salary
- Situational & Scenario-based
- Stress Management
- Teamwork
- Telephone Interview
- Tough
- Uncomfortable
- Work Ethic
