A highly underrated aspect of writing a CV and putting your best foot forward in an interview is your soft skills. Soft skills in of themselves are pretty underrated. You can’t get a degree in them (often), and you can’t really prove them the way you would technique with a portfolio for example.
However soft skills are extremely important to any role. Even if the role you’re looking to get doesn’t outline any, you can prove you know what you’re doing by suggesting some soft skills the role could require, that you just so happen to have. So, what are the most sought-after soft skills and how can you prove you have them? We explore in this guide.
The importance of soft skills
Soft skills are the difference between clocking in, doing the job, and clocking out again, and bringing some expertise and pride to a job. By offering forward soft skills in an interview, you are showing that you can not only do the job but do the job well. To give a basic example, anyone can lift a plate from the kitchen and drop it at a table, but a good waiter will know how to bring some charm so that the customer has a good experience and will possibly come back for more.
But don’t get the idea that only customer service jobs take any soft skills. Soft skills can elevate any role, whether that’s an account or a miner.
How can you show your soft skills?
There are a lot of ways that you can show your soft skills, but remember to keep them relevant to the role, or to explain how they are relevant to the role. Make sure they are featured in your CV, with their own Skills section, and you can expand on them in your cover letter by giving examples of how you have used them or why they are important.
When you are in the interview room, use the STAR system to showcase your soft skills. Remember: Situation, Task, Action and Result to show your soft skills in action.
Remember that a lot of these soft skills will be shown in your behaviour in the interview. If you say you are organised and punctual, you can’t be late. If you say you are tech-savvy you can’t get lost in the Zoom lobby. If you say you are good at active listening you can demonstrate that in the interview.
The main source of persuasion when it comes to soft skills is your reference. Your reference should point out if you are a hard worker or any other personality traits they thought brought something to the role.
Communication Skills
Communication skills like verbal and written communication are desired in most roles, especially office-based roles, customer service or hospitality roles. Even sending a well-worded email is important when it’s going to an important client. Other skills such as active listening are good for team building and presentation skills will also be useful. As mentioned, active listening can be demonstrated in the interview and you can also demonstrate presentation skills with a portfolio.
Teamwork and Collaboration
In almost every work environment, an employer is going to have to know that you work well with others, in your own way. Are you a delegator or a sharer? Do you prefer talking things out or figuring it out on your own? Employers are going to want to know how you work within a diverse team, how you would approach resolving conflicts, and how you adapt to new groups. You can demonstrate any of these in the interview process with examples of addressing problems in your past experience.
Problem-solving and Critical Thinking
Of course, not all problems are going to centre around your team. Just as important to convey is your ability to solve problems within the role. How do you analyse and recognise a problem? How creative are you with your problem-solving skills? Can you execute your problem-solving skills without creating new problems? How are you with decision-making? Do you go with your gut or take advice from everyone around you? Do you stew with a decision or prefer to snap decide? Think up a few anecdotes to help you out in the interview room.
Digital Literacy
Digital literacy is becoming an important tool in the job market, due to a number of reasons. Crucially, digital literacy is actually going down, interestingly, in younger generations, raised on technology. Gen Z and Alpha may have spent their lives on their iPads, but they have trouble opening a spreadsheet.
Additionally, due to the reliance on technology in just about every sector and role, digital literacy is fast becoming a non-negotiable. You should demonstrate your skills by mentioning software you have experience in using in your CV, mentioning any digital skills you use daily in your interview, and sharing examples of how you stay updated with technological trends that are relevant to the role.
Conclusion
It goes without saying that recruiters should be thinking about soft skills too. They’re more vital in some roles more than others, but they are necessary to all roles. You don’t want to post any job description without thinking about the soft skills that are necessary to the role.