We all know how tough the job market can be. While you may think you have all the technical skills and experience necessary to meet the requirements, but to really stand out from the crowd you need more – you need to leverage your soft skills.
Soft skills are a mix of your people skills, social skills, communication skills and personal skills. With this in mind it’s easy to see why soft skills are increasingly becoming the deciding factor in choosing the ideal candidate.
Some of your soft skills may come naturally to you, others you would have learned over time. But one thing is certain, if you can demonstrate strong technical expertise as well as the right soft skills, you dramatically increase your chances of getting the job. So, what are the most important soft skills employers want to see?
1. Creativity
Challenges are inevitable in our life and work, making the ability to think creatively highly valuable to employers. With an ever-changing business landscape, employers need employees who can innovate, problem-solve and come up with creative ideas that improve productivity, performance and profit.
What examples can you provide that showcases your creativity? How have you thought differently, solved a problem creatively, offered a different perspective, or innovated to improve a process, product or service?
2. Collaboration
One of the biggest workplace challenges that employers face is individuals and teams working in silos. Not only can this limit communication and knowledge transfer throughout the company, but it can also stifle progress. The ability to collaborate with others is crucial for company growth and team performance.
How have you collaborated with colleagues throughout your career to get buy-in, complete a project or achieve a specific outcome?
3. Empathy
Empathy, the ability to step into someone else’s shoes, acknowledge their view and understand their needs is crucial in the workplace. Empathy not only creates a more supportive work environment, but it also helps us to diffuse escalating situations like workplace conflict or irate customers quickly and compassionately.
The ability to relate to another person’s pain or understand the complexity of someone else’s perspective is a highly regarded skill.
4. Leadership
Employers are looking for people who are capable of growing beyond the role they are applying for, and that is where leadership qualities come in. When you think about it, leadership combines all of the soft skills above and demonstrates that you’re someone that can take charge when the need arises.
When you look for examples of your leadership, keep in mind that you don’t need to be limited to your employment history. You may have examples from your community service or membership positions within associations and organisations.
Want more help to position yourself as the right candidate for the job? You’ll learn more tips like these in our Starting Out, Starting Over and Starting New online career coaching programs. Want to talk to a real person to find out more? Give us a call on 1300 27 83 45.
