The Importance of Soft Skills

According to a LinkedIn survey released this year, 80% of recruiters say soft skills are increasingly important to a company’s success and therefore becoming more and more desired when considering candidates.

So, what are soft skills? These are the qualities that determine how well we interact with others. They include skills like attitude, communication, creative problem solving/thinking and teamwork. The most in-demand soft skill according to over 5,000 recruiting professionals? Creativity. Simply defined in the survey as “solving problems in original ways—a skill that machines can’t easily replicate.”

While hard skills certainly matter (think education, what you learn through work experience or training); more and more companies are realizing just how important soft skills are. Virtually every job has some form of people engagement and being able to harmoniously and effectively interact with others has a significant positive impact on a company’s ability to overcome challenges, navigate change and maintain a positive workplace culture- all things that are crucial to a company’s success. With that in mind, more and more companies are placing an emphasis on soft skills and working harder to look for it during the interview process.

Here are some ways you can highlight your soft skills during the entire interview process:

1. Highlight soft skills you have and used in your current/past jobs on your resume- look for similarities in the job you are applying for (job description is a good start!).

2. Be prepared to answer behavioral questions during the interview process- these often include asking for specific examples of something you did in the past.

3. Be aware of your body language- use active listening that includes eye contact, smiling, body posture that demonstrates you are engaged, responding with questions and paraphrasing, and note taking where appropriate.

4. Be prepared to also answer situational questions- these can be “what if” questions meant to highlight your creative thinking/problem solving skills.

For more information on the LinkedIn survey click here LinkedIn Global Talent Trends