Your resume contains information about your education and experience, but does it talk enough about your soft skills? If not, it should. An overwhelming majority of employers — 77 percent — think that soft skills are as important as hard skills, according to a CareerBuilder survey. And when evaluating job candidates, they are giving equal weight to both hard and soft skills.
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
Hard skills are tangible skills that can be measured, such as technical proficiencies, typing, math, writing and ability to perform specific tasks. Employers will look at your hard skills first when determining if you are qualified to accomplish the responsibilities of a position.
Soft skills are your more intangible skills, like flexibility, time management, self-confidence and patience. Not only do employers want to know you have the hard skills to perform the job, they want to know that you also possess the soft skills to handle the pressures and pace of the day-to-day.
To help you better understand what soft skills employers are looking for, here are 4 soft skills you should have:
Communication Skills
Employers consistently cite communication skills as the most important soft skill an employee can have. Having excellent communication skills is more than the ability to speak well. You also need to be able to express ideas coherently, persuade others, and write clearly and concisely. Employees with stellar communications skills are almost always the first ones looked at when deciding who will be tapped for future leadership roles. And not only should you have the ability to communicate, you also need the ability to listen.
Adaptability
Change can be daunting, especially in the workplace. But change is inevitable in the corporate world. Employers are looking for candidates who can roll with the punches. They need employees who can quickly and effectively adapt to change without missing a beat. When new processes are developed or new technologies are put in place, employers want someone whose productivity won’t suffer due to change adaptation.
Project Management Skills
Employers don’t want to have to hold your hand, so they will look for candidates who demonstrate strong project management skills. They need employees who are organized and can manage their time effectively. Employees with strong project management skills save their employers valuable time and money, so be prepared to demonstrate in an interview how you’ve practiced effective project management skills.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence can be defined many ways, but basically it refers to your ability to handle and interpret emotions. People with high emotional intelligence work better with teams, are more flexible, and can handle criticism more effectively than their peers. Those with high emotional intelligence are also more likely to succeed, thus are more attractive to potential employers.
It’s clear that employers aren’t just looking at the technical abilities of potential employees. In order to land the job that you want, you need to make sure that your resume demonstrates your soft skills as well. If you would like help finding career opportunities, contact Morgan Hunter today.