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Soft skills are skills every employee needs daily. Even though these aren’t taught in school or university, they’re very important for a job applicant. Some of these skills are the ability to manage a team, work in a casual environment or taking initiative. How do organizations view the best soft skills for resume?
Read on for examples of soft skills for resume and ways to assess these in a resume that comes across your desk.
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Top Soft Skills For Resume
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How To Talk About Soft Skills
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How To Create An Impactful Resume
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Continue The Soft Skills Journey
Top Soft Skills For Resume
Though the term ‘soft skills’ makes them sound optional, this set of skills is actually critical to get the job done, and employers actively look out for them. Some examples of soft skills for resume are:
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Communication
This is a skill anyone can develop and improve. Excellent communication skills are essential in all industries and are applied daily by everyone. If a team member can communicate clearly with their manager or colleagues, they’ll more likely be remembered as a professional who’s easy to work with and this will help them make progress in their career.
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Teamwork
Soft skills can lead to success in a team-based environment. Employees need to work well with colleagues. This skill is going to help them thrive at their jobs, gain respect from other people in the office and improve productivity which will benefit both them and the organization.
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Leadership
Listening is an important attribute for any team leader and can be shown on a resume by explaining how you have managed staff members or peers in a previous position.
Soft skills are among the most important aspects of a job search, as employers use it to learn more about what kind of person they’ll be interviewing. While these are three major soft skills to add in resume, there are other skills that can signal a strong work ethic such as creativity, adaptability, problem-solving skills, time management, initiative and perseverance.
How To Talk About Soft Skills
As important as they are, sometimes communicating our soft skills in written form can be a challenge. For candidates to showcase soft skills for resume, here are some steps to follow:
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Understand the job description, skills and experience required for the position. They should tailor the resume to this. For example, if the application is for a management position, candidates can include critical thinking, problem-solving and organizational skills in the resume.
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Show knowledge of a skill, quality, or characteristic appropriately. Ensure the accomplishments are specific enough so the employer will know what they’re looking at (for example, “Member of university department’s executive board” instead of “Student leader”).
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Include quantitative examples that resulted from mastery over a soft skill, such as “increased margins by 25% through negotiation”.
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Add non-work-related achievements, such as volunteer service, community involvement, school honors and awards or tutoring students with special needs.
Soft skills can go a long way to reflect a well-rounded person who’ll be a good team player who adds value to the organization.
How To Create An Impactful Resume
Whether you’re writing your own resume or helping someone else write theirs, here are some tips to follow for anyone looking to highlight soft skills:
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List Your Soft Skills
List your soft skills in an organized format that represents the order in which you gained them. Use an example to illustrate your experience and knowledge with the particular type of job you are applying for.
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Align Your Skills With The Job
Show how your soft skills can be used in real-life situations to achieve organizational goals. This is the most common strategy most candidates employ, so choose your words carefully for the greatest impact. Examples of this format include: “Demonstrated ability to handle strong customer relationships,” or “Received awards for the ability to manage and motivate groups.”
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Support Your Skills With Examples
Add a few instances of how soft skills helped you grow and improve on the job. “Networked with business professionals at workshops,” or “Became more comfortable speaking in public by taking part in lecture series,” are examples of how to signal adaptability and desire to take initiative.
Don’t hide soft skills behind vague language. Communicating them clearly can give you that winning edge in a job interview.
Continue The Soft Skills Journey
There are many ways to enhance soft skills for resume for both new or mid-career professionals. Harappa’s Compelling Communication Program is for anyone who has to deal with stakeholders where any kind of communication is needed—from actively listening and understanding the brief to explain the solutions using storytelling and impactful presentations. Learn how to get to the heart of the message with precision and clarity.
Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as What Are Soft Skills, Most Important Soft Skills, The Importance Of Soft Skills, Difference Between Soft Skills And Hard Skills that will help organizations tap into their employee’s potential.
