A job requires much more than just the technical know-how about the job profile. An ideal employee is one who has the appropriate hard skills as well soft skills.
After all, if you are not able to express your ideas or your opinions, how will you be able to climb up the corporate ladder?
In this blog, you will find a list of important soft skills which are considered the most important by recruiters and how to list them on your resume.
But first, let’s get an understanding of what exactly soft skills are and why they are important.
What are soft skills and why are they important
To begin with, soft skills are the interpersonal skills that help you to navigate through work every day.
You may think that recruiters don’t pay much attention to these skills, but that’s not the truth. They have a list of important skills that they wish to see in their potential future employees.
Soft skills help balance one’s career at work. You can be amazing with your technical know-how but if not communicated right or if your body language is off, approaching or communicating with you can be difficult.
This would hamper the team’s functioning and your career enhancement.
Important soft skills every recruiter looks for
Every job requires an employee to work daily to both intra and inter-team colleagues. In all such situations, soft skills come into play in getting the work done.
So, here is a list of important soft skills that every recruiter looks for in a candidate.
Good communication
Communication is the most important soft skill to navigate at work every day.
Communication has various forms like forming an email, verbal and non-verbal communication, and each one plays an equally important role.
Let's start with the most important and almost forgotten, the art of listening. Whether in a team meeting or meeting with a client, good listening skills can help you to pick up the key points and provide an insight into how to respond to them correctly.
Next, are verbal and non-verbal communications, in short, the way you conduct yourself at work. A lot can be said about a person through their body language and tone of voice, and hence becomes extremely important in developing relationships in and around work. Follow the dress code that is followed at your organization, and make sure to be prim and proper.
Finally, follow the etiquette of writing a formal email, which is the most important medium of communication at a workplace.
Various business communication takes place via email, making it important to know how to convey the message or give instructions carefully and efficiently.
You can check out Coursera’s course on basic skills for effective communication, to ace your communication skills at work.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is an important soft skill that every job profile requires.
Recruiters want employees who can analyze and come up with a suitable solution to help the organization grow.
Irrespective of your field of work, the ability to understand the problem is an unsaid requirement that every recruiter looks for in their search for an ideal candidate.
Now, critical thinking is aided majorly by active listening, analyzing the situation/requirement, coming up with a creative solution, and having an unbiased opinion amongst others.
Being a team player
Teamwork is an important soft skill required at work, be it as team projects or attending meetings across departments.
A good team player needs to have strong soft skills such as effective communication, being self-motivated and being able to motivate others, responsible towards teammates, quick thinking, etc.
Coursera’s online course on teamwork and how to communicate effectively in groups is a great option to enroll for those who feel under-confident communicating in a group meeting.
Self-motivated
Another important soft skill that every employer looks for in their ideal candidates is whether or not they are self-motivated.
Employers appreciate candidates who do not need constant supervision as it showcases their dedication, passion, and understanding regarding their work.
The best thing is, such candidates do not limit themselves to just their bit of duties and are always eager to do more. This helps them to gather more knowledge, helping them to grow in their career.
Being responsible
In the soft skills list, responsibility is one of the most important soft skills required at work.
When an employee takes responsibility or ownership of their work, they will be working more towards improvement by accepting failures and working on it.
Taking responsibility for not only your goals but the company’s as well benefits both by bringing the company closer to its goals and making you a better employee.
Negotiation and problem resolving abilities
Negotiation is a really important soft skill for leadership roles.
Once again, to be a pro negotiator, one needs to have great listening skills and the ability to convince others.
Having differences of opinion in a team is normal, but the knowledge of how to handle such a situation without escalating and diffusing the tension peacefully requires good communication skills and diplomacy.
These are the two most important soft skills recruiters look for in a candidate opting for a leadership position. Thus, it is best to brush up on your empathy and emotional intelligence to lead the team effectively.
How to list soft skills in resume
Now, simply possessing important soft skills is not enough, you also need to highlight them on your resume and in the interview.
Here are a few things you need to do before listing the important skills in your resume.
- Make sure to research the company on their website. This will help to get an understanding of the list of soft skills they prioritize.
- List down all the soft skills you possess (take the help of your friends and trusted colleagues if required) and tally it with the organization’s requirements.
- Use the important soft skills while talking about previous work experiences, instead of creating a separate section.
Relevant Read: Hard Skills Vs Soft Skills (Difference Explained!)
So, it’s time to pull up your socks and toss aside all excuses as you work on your soft skill development.
You can check out Naukri Learning online courses on improving your important soft skills so that you can progress better at work.
All the Best!
