6 Soft Skills to Give You a Competitive Edge in the Workplace
What are soft skills?
Soft skills are personal traits or attributes that allow someone to work harmoniously in the workplace regardless of industry or field.
6 Soft skills for the workplace
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Creativity
- Critical thinking
- Emotional intelligence
- Independent thinker
Communication
Whether you’re speaking to clients or colleagues, it’s important to employers that you know how to communicate effectively and efficiently.
73.2% of employers believe proper verbal communication skills are a must.
Expressing yourself verbally is one of the main ways to give an excellent first impression and set the tone for how others perceive you. Being well-prepared for your interview will help you provide a great first impression and show off those verbal communication skills.
72.7% of hiring managers seek written communication skills in new grads.
Your cover letter and resume are great ways to show off this skill and make that positive first impression to potential employers.
Adaptability
Approximately 65.9% of employers look for flexibility and adaptability in new grads. Employees must be open to change and learn new skills to keep things moving when such changes occur. Depending on your line of work, you should know how to adjust and re-prioritize on the fly.
Creativity
Creativity suggests thinking outside of the norm. People with this trait can think about solutions or introduce new ideas in various ways. Creative employees are innovative and can uniquely approach challenges or situations. Diversity is essential to the workforce, and this includes diversity in thinking. Employers don’t just want robots working for them but people that can stand out.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking refers to the deliberate act of processing information to make informed decisions and/or solve problems. Through observing, researching, synthesizing and evaluating information one can form opinions and beliefs and particularly how to overcome obstacles.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive and manage own emotions and understand emotions of those around you. Employees with high levels of emotional intelligence such as self-awareness, and empathy can lead to improved job satisfaction, better stress management and a more positive work environment.
Independent thinker
There’s no denying that some supervisors out there only want to hire ‘yes men’ to boost their ego, but many employers seek independent thinkers. Individuals with this quality are willing to challenge the status quo and don’t let others think for them. This doesn’t mean independent thinking requires you to be a contrarian, but it means you think critically.
Employees who speak up and offer alternative ideas help businesses stay competitive and avoid stagnancy. In industries like information and technology, complacency will only leave you falling behind.
If you want to impress your hiring manager during your next interview, consider shifting away from cookie-cutter responses and instead offer some of your own opinions and thoughts.
How to highlight your soft skills in your resume
During the recruitment process, your resume, cover letter, interview and the help of online profiles can all be used to showcase your soft skills.
Resume
You can use a couple of options when including soft skills on your resume. The obvious choice is the skills section, but you can also utilize the summary or objective section along with your employment history descriptions.
Cover letter
Rather than just rehashing your resume, your cover letter should tell a story highlighting one or two transferable skills. Choose a few skills to highlight
Interview
Refer to real life scenarios to showcase your transferable skills when answering the interviewer’s questions. Using the STAR method, you can create detailed stories of past experiences where you successfully used vital skills.
Online
Whether it’s LinkedIn or your online portfolio, you can add soft skills at the click of a button.
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