Displaying your technical skills is easy. They will speak for themselves in your previous experiences and certificates. Voicing your soft skills is not only more difficult but it may even be more imperative to landing a job than any other qualification. So what exactly are employers looking for and how can you show off your valuable soft skills?
Top Soft Skills
These skills are more indicative as to who you are as a person, which will translate into what kind of employee you will be. For the most part, soft skills can’t be taught and are the intangibles that can really differentiate and make a candidate standout. These are the top five soft skills that every employer looks for in a potential hire.
- Dependability – Will you show up to work and deliver consistent results on time? This trait is extremely valuable for every company. Employees that are dependable can be trusted with more responsibility and even leadership roles.
- Great Communication – Unless you work remotely on a very menial task, communication will be a big part of your position. Being able to articulate messages helps with the sharing of crucial information, and that is something that is valuable for any company.
- Shows Initiative – The mentality to always stay busy and push forward even when you have completed your assigned tasks is a huge bonus employers look for when hiring a new employee.
- Takes Responsibility – Proving to a company that you take responsibility for your actions and admit when you’ve made a mistake builds trust and gives companies peace of mind. A company can work with an employee that makes mistakes, but they are much less likely to keep on an employee that doesn’t take responsibility for his or her actions and can’t be trusted.
- Innovative – Employers are always looking for something new and different. An employee that breaks the mold and finds creative solutions for improving processes is always going to standout to an interviewer.
Displaying Your Soft Skills
Soft skills aren’t always quantifiable and easy to showcase on a resume or cover letter. It is important to list your soft skills in your resume just as you would your more technical skills, but in order to discern yourself from the other candidates with a similar work history you will need to tell your story. Talk about real experiences when you utilized your soft skills in your cover letter and during interviews. Get creative with your responses by adding a little extra piece of yourself as an added punch. Take each opportunity you can to reveal your personality or soft skills when you communicate with a hiring manager.
To put your personality out to the right companies and the right hiring managers for your career goals, consider partnering with a staffing powerhouse in the healthcare, general labor, IT, HR and finance industries like MRInc. Contact Management Registry Inc today and we will exhaust all of our resources to find you your dream job.