The Basics of Soft Skills
In the job market, there are two types of skills that employers look for: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are technical abilities that you can learn in school or through on-the-job training. Soft skills are more intangible qualities that often aren’t taught but rather developed over time. Both hard and soft skills are essential for the workplace, so let’s take a closer look at what soft skills are and how they can help you stand out from the competition.
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills refer to a set of personal attributes that allow someone to interact effectively with colleagues and customers. Soft skills can include (Weber et al., 2009):
- Communication skills – negotiation, active listening, questioning, persuasion, conflict resolution, understanding different perspectives, handling objectives, giving and receiving feedback, building rapport, cooperation, and written communication.
- Problem-solving and thinking skills – creativity, analytical thinking, and being comfortable with ambiguity and complexity.
- Leadership and teamwork skills – drive, vision, negotiation, conflict resolution, persuasion, project management, compromise, judgment, sociability, collaboration, performance management, decision-making, approachability, team formation, norm-setting, accountability, and empathy.
- Ethical and moral values – cultural awareness, professional codes of conduct, diversity management, work ethic, trustworthiness, integrity, and honesty.
- Self-management skills – self-awareness and knowledge, self-confidence, time management, self-motivation, self-regulation, work-life balance, accountability, accountability, goal-setting, workplace organization, personal core values, flexibility, curiosity, self-control, and stress resilience.
These are all important qualities to have in any professional setting because they reflect your ability to work with people and manage yourself in a variety of situations.
Soft Skills in Action
Let’s say you’ve applied for a customer service position at a company. You know the job requires excellent communication skills and the ability to handle customer complaints calmly and efficiently. Your potential employer is likely to consider not just your technical knowledge—do you know how to use the company’s software?—but also whether or not you possess the soft skills necessary to do the job well. For example, will you be able to remain calm under pressure? Can you think on your feet when confronted with difficult customers? Do you have strong interpersonal skills? These questions focus on soft skills rather than hard ones, but they are just as important when it comes to determining who gets hired (or promoted).
Developing Your Soft Skills
The good news is that developing your soft skill set doesn’t require any formal education or expensive classes; rather, it’s more about taking note of your strengths and weaknesses when interacting with others. Ask friends or family members for honest feedback on how you come across in different situations—are there areas where you could improve? If so, there are lots of ways to practice developing those softer aspects of yourself: join a debate team; volunteer at a local charity; take an improvisation class; read books on communication strategies; listen more than talk during conversations; practice actively listening; etc. All these activities can help sharpen your existing soft skill set while building new ones as well!
Concluding Thoughts
In conclusion, having both hard and soft skills helps ensure success in the workplace—and luckily, developing your soft skill set doesn’t have to be an intimidating process! With some self-reflection and practice engaging with others in different contexts, anyone can become an expert communicator or problem solver who stands out from their peers. If you’re looking for ways to improve your chances at getting hired (or promoted), start honing those softer abilities today – trust us – it’s worth it!
