What are Soft Skills?

When you start writing your resume you will find that there is a section about soft skills. And many people who are at the beginning of their career are not exactly sure what soft skills are. In short, they are non-technical skills that are not directly related to your field. But soft skills are required in every field.

Soft skills usually are about problem-solving, communication, and your style of working. Soft skills can be learned through experience but those who are just starting to work can jumpstart and learn them from online courses.

Top Soft Skills

Soft skills generally include your interpersonal skills, how you build relationships with your co-workers, with people working under you or your managers. They can also include the way to manage and do your tasks, like using time effectively, planning out and asking for help.

You can gain and develop soft skills through online classes. It is possible to become a better listener or tolerate difficult people by following online soft skills courses but you need to practice them in your work life and build strong foundations.

Soft skills can be used in any department of a company, in any role or position. Even if you are the CEO or owner of the company you have to be a good listener and make sure you don’t miss any bits of information.

Interpersonal skills are the same. No matter how mellow of a personality you have, you are bound to meet some difficult people in your work life. And learning how to manage them is a crucial skill if you want to become successful. Otherwise, you have to be quiet when people use you as a scapegoat or you can even become a victim of mobbing.

Another soft skill is time management. Without micromanagement, you should be able to prioritize your tasks and use your time effectively. No one is going to create a timetable for you to follow. You are also responsible for saying no to unnecessary meetings and other things that could waste your time.

Highlight Your Soft Skills

Since you cannot prove your soft skills as you do with your technical skills, it would be wise to highlight a few instances you were insightful and used your soft skills. You probably cannot mention them on your resume but when you are in a job interview it is always useful to show examples.

For example, instead of telling the recruiter that you are good at time management, tell them about that time your team had so little time but managed to complete the project before the deadline, with success.

To do that, you should always be aware of your actions and like we have mentioned above, you should constantly try to practice your soft skills to improve them. Online courses can teach you how to gain the necessary skills but you have to develop them on your own time, with other people. In time you will find that they are becoming habits instead of practice.