Utilising your soft skills to nab the job of your dreams

Let’s say you’ve got a reputation for being the best graphic designer or editor or mechanic, within all these roles it will amount to very little if you don’t work well with others.

Some of the most important professional skills simply can’t be taught in the classroom, nor measured. These traits are called soft skills and they’re more crucial to your job search and career than you think. 

According to the ‘Monster Future of Work: 2021 Outlook survey’ recruiters chose soft skills, topped by dependability, teamwork/ collaboration, and problem-solving/ critical thinking as the most important skills they’re seeking in new hires.   

Soft skills refer to both character traits and interpersonal skills that will influence how well a person can work or interact with others. The term ‘soft skills’ covers a wide range of skills as diverse as teamwork, time management, empathy, and delegation. 

‘By 2025, complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, and emotional intelligence would be among the important skills required in the workplace’ 

• The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs report 

Why have soft skills become so important?

Hiring employees with advanced soft skills can have a significant impact on an organisation’s ability to function effectively. While hard skills such as technical knowledge used to be the prime requirements for jobs, the possession of soft skills is now considered essential, and in some cases even more important than technical knowledge.

They offer many benefits to you, your team members, and the organisation, including:

• Increased efficiency and productivity
• Stronger interpersonal and professional relationships 
• More innovative solutions
• Company growth

And employers value soft skills because they: 

• Demonstrate your initiative, proactivity, and confidence
• Help employers understand professional personality 
• Determine if candidates are a good fit within a team and align with business goals
• Promote better company culture

When it comes to applying for your dream role, a lot of time and effort is required - including the research, resume writing, applying, interviews, and much more. To make your job search more successful you need to present your work-related skills, e.g. your soft skills more effectively. That way you will stand out to employers. 

Here are some key soft skills employers look for:

1. Team player

Teamwork skills are the qualities that allow you to work well with others and include the ability to relate, communicate and collaborate in reaching business goals. This skill reflects your ability to: 

→ Help others 

→ Training others and sharing knowledge to help them succeed also

→ Participate in meetings

→ Complete your part of projects on time

→ Provide constructive feedback to peers

→ Be respectful of colleagues ideas 

2. Communication 

This skill is the key to success for any organisation. This skill relates to how you express your thoughts, ideas, and feelings towards others and how you interact with peers within the workplace. There are five types of communication skills that can be utilised every day: 

→ Verbal communication

→ Non-verbal communication 

→ Written communication

→ Active listening 

→ Digital communication 

3. Creative thinking 

No matter which industry vertical, creative thinking helps you find solutions to any problems. Having the ability to come up with something new, innovative, and engaging can help in many different situations within the workplace, including: 

→ When finding solutions or testing hypotheses 

→ Brainstorming ideas with colleagues

4. Problem-solving 

With problem-solving skills, you can identify an issue, research possible solutions, use logical trial and error, and ultimately prevent the problem from arising again. Like many soft skills, both experience and knowledge can improve your efficiency and effectiveness in overcoming obstacles. 

5. Dependability 

Dependability comes down to your own ability to follow through with what is expected of you, this can include: 

→ Producing work to the highest standard 

→ Meeting deadlines 

→ Being punctual to both work and meetings 

Companies want the reassurance that they can rely on their employees. Therefore developing your dependability is what will show your employers that you are responsible and reliable. 

6. Positivity 

Adopting a positive attitude means being optimistic and happy at work, no matter the project or task. Employees with a positive attitude are more eager to produce high-quality work, demonstrate self-motivation, and can interact well with others. The quality of being ‘positive’ can help to improve morale for an entire team or company and shape culture and values too.  

How to highlight your soft skills 

To promote yourself as a high-quality candidate to potential employers, be sure to emphasise your soft skills at every stage, for instance on your cover letter, CV, and during the interview process. 

Let’s dive in a little deeper… 

→ Within your cover letter, you can include a paragraph that highlights your achievements using soft skills in your previous work experience. Including your strongest soft skills in the opening paragraph is also a great first introduction to yourself. 

→ Within your CV, you can include soft skills in a ‘skills’ section, using verbs to show off your experience and how you utilise them in a working environment.  

→ At the interview stage using the STAR technique will help you to show how you use soft skills in a real-life work situation to your interviewer. Explain the situation, describe the task you had, outline the actions you took and reveal the results of your efforts.

Soft skills are indeed the key to landing your dream role. Employers today are giving as much attention to these soft skills as they are to technical job-related skills. By polishing these skills and understanding how to show your potential employer that you encompass them will help you increase your chances of getting the job.