If you’re going up against another candidate for a job role and you both have the same qualifications, level of experience in your field and technical skills. The decision will be based on your soft skills. Soft skills are fundamental in the workplace; some employers may value these skills more than hard skills. Often the view is that employees can learn hard skills but soft skills are much more challenging to learn quickly.
What are soft skills?
Soft skills are things like your ability to communicate clearly and concisely, time management, critical thinking, networking, decision-making, leadership, teamwork, empathy and work ethic. Often these skills are learned over time at home, school and the workplace. So if soft skills are so essential, then you should fully understand what they are and how to develop them. They aren’t skills you’ll have a qualification in, although many people attend courses for leadership and decision-making. It can also be challenging to demonstrate all of your soft skills in an interview and on your application. But it is essential to show you have the soft skills vital to the job. Once you have the job, your probation period is the chance to show your employer your full range of soft skills.
Employers seek out soft skills
When looking for candidates to join their organisation, employers will seek out those with certain soft skills. That’s why it’s important to include details of your soft skills within your CV or application. You don’t necessarily need to call each one out, although some prefer to do so. A good way to weave them into your application is through your experience and previous roles. Mention how you lead a team of 20 people or how you always ensure you meet your deadlines. Examples of soft skills allow you to show potential employers what you can bring to their company. Always tailor your cover letter or application and mention the soft skills the employer is looking for, using examples.
Soft skills courses
If you haven’t had the opportunity to lead a team or demonstrate your leadership skills in a previous role, you might want to consider leadership coaching or a leadership course. This way, you can prove to your current employer or on job applications that you’re committed to self-improvement and working on your soft skills. Employers will be impressed if you’ve gone out of your way to attend a leadership course to further your career. Some companies will also have a training and development budget; if you want to gain a promotion into a leadership role at your current company, you could ask to use that budget for a leadership course. Many organisations would rather promote their current employees to more senior positions and replace a junior employee with someone new. It can save them money, and you’ll already know the previous role, so you can help train the new employee.
Working with others
In most organisations, you’ll need to work with others to achieve tasks as a team. Having the right technical and hard skills to do the job role is important. However, it is often more important to be able to achieve the goal as part of a team. Employees who struggle with soft skills might be challenging to work with, which could lead to workplace disagreements. Other employees might refuse to work alongside challenging employees; they might even leave as a result. Therefore many employers look to hire new staff that will work well with the current team dynamics. Demonstrating the right soft skills will show you’re suitable for working in any team environment and adapting to suit the situation.
By taking steps to improve your ability to work in a team, your leadership skills or your time management, you can improve your chances of securing your dream job role. If you think you’re lacking in some soft skills, you must identify which skills and how you can improve them. In addition, you could be passed up for promotional opportunities if you don’t display these important soft skills. Slight changes to the way you work and your attitude could make you eligible for a promotion the next time the opportunity arises.
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