Sharpening Your Soft Skills

Here is a fact: employers are interested in hiring people with excellent soft skills, as well as technical ability. Appreciation for the importance of soft skills has been growing for years and there is no doubt that employers are keen to find people who have them. If you haven’t already, now is the prime time to work on yours. The good news is they will end up benefiting you beyond your job search and the workplace. ‘Soft skills’ is a broad term though, what does it really mean?

Let’s start here: soft skills are behaviors, personality traits, and natural abilities, while hard skills are technical and require formal training and education. It’s easy to see how having both kinds of skills can lead to outstanding outcomes. For example, when a doctor sets a broken leg, he is using a technical skill, but when he can calm and reassure the patient and their family about the prognosis, he is using a soft skill. An accountant who can create a complex spreadsheet, and patiently teach a junior staff member how to use it, is demonstrating both hard and soft skills.

The idea that technical skills are learned, and soft skills are innate might make you think that soft skills cannot be learned. This can’t be any further from the truth. Whatever level of skill you have naturally can be built on and improved. That’s why athletes train, no matter how much talent they are born with and no matter how many times they’ve proved their greatness; the training keeps their muscles alert and ready for the next challenge. Alternatively, we can take dependability as an example. While some people are dependable from an early age, plenty of young adults are late for work to their first job but ultimately learn the importance of punctuality, which shows as they get older and progress in their careers.

Communication, consistently ranked as one of the top soft skills employers’ desire, is an even better example. Verbal, digital, written - there are many different types of communication that you need in business and may have a talent for, but can always be improved upon. Not everyone is a strong public speaker and comfortable making presentations, but they can be trained to do so. Not everyone is naturally inclined to be a concise or clear writer, but they can become skilled at it. You can be taught how to give feedback in a non-confrontational manner. You can even discover how to change or at least control your emotions. There are techniques and tools and people that will help you learn all of it. And you should, because it’s worth it, both for your professional and personal existence.

Being proficient in as many soft skills as possible will make you more attractive to future employers. Furthermore, strong soft skills help people make successful career shifts to new industries or jobs because it makes you adaptable. If you have strong communication and sales skills, a company can provide the technical knowledge you need about their product. If you want to move into management and eventually senior leadership positions, improving your soft skills will probably give you better results than another technical certification. Does it sound like a lot of work? Well, it can be. Things that are worth something usually involve effort, but the outcome is invaluable in the end. So why not give it a try?

There are books, online and in person classes, self-directed and instructor-led lessons, on all these topics that are available. Many companies even offer training and professional development opportunities. Improving your soft skills is something that can benefit you throughout your career. Look at some of the most important soft skills that employers are looking for and then do a quick self-audit. Which ones do you have? Which are you lacking? Which are more important in your job, company, or industry? Focus on those. Invest your time and effort wisely, but invest it, nonetheless. Why? Because you are worth it!

Top Soft Skills

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