Soft skills are personality traits or behavior skills. Unlike technical or ‘hard’ skills, soft skills are not about the knowledge that you possess but the behaviors that you display in different situations.
Hard skills are important to get a job done in technical terms. However, soft skills are necessary to effectively interact with people, be a good speaker and listener, be empathetic, and be a good person overall. Soft skills can get you through life.
The soft skills can not be measured by any unit but can be proved.
Along with the technical skills, candidates possessing strong soft skills are preferred by employers. Soft Skills define your personality, your working style.
These skills help you in developing and maintain relationships in both your personal and professional life. A person with good soft skills can bring people together, motivate them to carry out a task, organize things effectively, resolve conflicts and handle difficult situations tactfully.
Soft skills are thus of great value to any employer and are sought after by everyone. In order to be successful in life, one must possess soft skills. Being able to showcase and utilize your soft skills during an interview can increase your chances of getting hired.
Confused between hard skills and soft skills?
Hard skills or technical skills are related to your technical knowledge. You get your hard skills from your degree or certification course.
You can improve your hard skills by gaining in-depth technical knowledge. Hard skills can help you solve a complex technical problem. You can suggest or recommend certain changes in a process or production based on your knowledge and experience.
On the other hand, soft skills are like managerial skills that can help you interact better with people, understand them better, organize tasks at hand, manage time to work efficiently, be empathetic and emotionally stable.
For example, let us say, you face a situation where there arises a technical fault in the production line. Technical skills or hard skills will help you figure out the root cause of the fault and find a solution for it. However, your soft skills will ensure that you stay calm in a crisis and think rationally.
Your soft skills will help you to understand the problem the worker faced which led to the fault. You will stay calm and think of what should be done next if you possess a good amount of soft skills.
Did you know?
The survey from Stanford Research Institute and the Carnegie Mellon Foundation among Fortune 500 CEOs confirmed that 75% of long-term job success-oriented from soft skills and only 25% from technical skills.
Another study determined that 80 % of career achievements came through soft skills and 20% through hard skills.
Now that we know how important soft skills are, let us see the 5 most important soft skills that you need to possess that can give you an edge in an interview.
Following are the 5 most important soft skills that you must have to face an interview:
1. Communication Skill:
Communication skills are of utmost importance in day-to-day life.
Communication is the medium of information transfer.
Possessing good communication skills is therefore a must, no matter where you want to reach in life. To ace an interview you must possess strong communication skills.
Practice communication skills before you appear for an interview. Practice nonverbal aspects of communication along with verbal aspects.
Be a good listener. Understand the motive behind the interviewer's question and then proceed to answer.
Few communication skills are:
Good Listener
Problem-solving
Coordination
Teamwork
2. Work Ethics:
A belief in the moral benefit, the importance of work, and respect for every person at the workplace are work ethics.
Apply ethical principles to make the right decisions.
Workplace ethics like equal wages to an equal level of employees, no discrimination based on caste, religion, economic conditions, communities, respect to everyone are most valued and you must follow them.
Avoid interrupting unnecessarily in other's work. Try to maintain a positive atmosphere at your workplace.
Having strong work ethics will help you make the right decision during a difficult situation.
Follow work ethics like:
Good Attitude
A good point of view towards people
Adaptability
Positive Psychology
Persistence
3. Positive Thinking:
Positive thinking creates positive thoughts and eventually transforms them into reality.
Happiness, health, creativity, and a positive attitude are built by positive thinking.
During an interview answer the questions with a positive approach.
Convince the interviewer that you can add great value to the organization. Avoid making any negative remarks about your past work or the current company where you are applying for. This can prove to be disadvantageous for you.
4. Time Management:
Some people make better use of time for their career development and to make time for relationships, family, and friends, and pursue one's interests in personal life.
Many employers seek to develop time management techniques. Time management is a valued skill as it allows you to work efficiently under deadlines.
With effective time management, you can ensure a work-life balance. Implement time management in day-to-day life. Prioritize your tasks and responsibilities and complete them within time.
5. Self Confidence:
Self-confidence is an attitude that defines your ability to carry out tasks with confidence.
You must trust and accept yourself the way you are to build self-confidence. Self-confidence implies that you believe in your decisions and your course of actions.
Be confident while appearing for an interview. Have faith in yourself and your preparation. Maintain an eye-contact with the interviewer and smile often. It works.
Having enough self-confidence alone can set you apart from other candidates and you get a step closer to getting the job.
Now that you know what are soft skills and why are they important, you can start working on them right away.
Possessing strong soft skills can give you an edge in this competitive world. You can inculcate and improve on your soft skills through determination and practice. Learn new things, stay updated.
Observe the people around you. See how they behave in groups and how they present themselves. Try to initiate conversation. Be a part of discussions as frequently as you can.
Read self-help books. Take help and guidance from experts. Invest your time in improving yourself. Be determined and confident and you can surely get your dream job.
Which soft skills are your strengths? Let us know in the comments.
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