Soft Skills Are Important Too

When people talk about career growth and developing skills, there’s often an emphasis on hard skills - the measurable, teachable abilities that are easy to quantify on a resume. Think programming languages, financial modeling or foreign language fluency. These skills are critical, no doubt, but they’re only part of the picture. Today, I want to talk about the often overlooked, unsung heroes of career success: soft skills.

To briefly explain, hard skills are your technical capabilities, the ones you learn in classrooms or specific training programmes. They’re your ticket into the job market. Soft skills, however, determine how well you’ll navigate the workplace once you’re in. These include your ability to communicate effectively, work collaboratively, adapt to new situations and lead with empathy and insight.

Soft skills such as emotional intelligence, teamwork and adaptability aren’t just nice-to-haves. They can make or break your ability to succeed in your career. For example, emotional intelligence allows you to read between the lines in team meetings or handle sensitive negotiations with grace. Teamwork ensures diverse groups can come together to meet common goals despite differing viewpoints. Adaptability allows you to shift gears when project priorities change or when technological advancements require learning new tools.

Just imagine a software developer who can code like a wizard but struggles to explain their processes to non-technical team members. Their career progression might stall if they can’t effectively communicate their value. Conversely, a project manager might not be the most skilled technician on their team but could excel in leading projects to successful completion because they excel in leadership, coordination and motivation. Recently my partner was driving a large scale recruitment process and shared with me his strategy explaining that people fulfilled different roles in the team and that’s why you need to recruit diverse skills, even if they’re entering into the same/similar roles.?

Good leadership, perhaps the most impactful soft skill, relies heavily on a mix of interpersonal skills. A leader must motivate, inspire and direct. They need to manage not just projects but people’s feelings and professional development. Leadership demands vision but also the ability to convey that vision to others and get them on board.

To develop these soft skills, you must consider activities beyond traditional training. Engage in cross-functional projects, seek roles that require some level of client or stakeholder interaction or take leadership in team initiatives. Each of these opportunities can enhance skills like negotiation, conflict resolution and public speaking.

Here’s the bottom line, professionals who cultivate a rich set of soft skills alongside their technical abilities are often those who climb the highest, transitioning from team members to leaders, from specialists to experts. These skills make you flexible and responsive which are crucial traits in a fast-changing job market.

Please take note of the importance of continual learning and adaptation. Soft skills enable this growth and ensure we can meet the challenges of dynamic work environments and a tight job market. Soft skills are not just complementary to your hard skills.?

As the landscape of work continues to evolve, the demand for individuals who can seamlessly integrate technical expertise with strong interpersonal abilities also increases. Those who invest in developing their soft skills - whether through on-the-job experiences, continuous learning or proactive engagement in diverse work experiences position themselves as invaluable assets to any team.?

Remember that your career is a blend of what you know and how well you interact with others. By valuing and continuously improving your soft skills, you not only enhance your immediate job performance but also your long-term career prospects. Aim to not just fill roles but instead to excel in them and inspire and elevate those around you through this example.

Always believing in your potential,

Jessy x