According to a LinkedIn survey, 80% of employers struggle to find employees with soft skills. The most important skills they look for are creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and time management.
Hard Skills Vs. Soft Skills
You might think that a career path in IT or other tech-heavy industries would emphasize hard skills (coding, technical knowledge, lab skills). However, a survey from BestColleges found that only 11% of employees report using hard skills most of the time; 20% report using trade-specific skills (how to operate a machine or tool) most of the time; and a whopping 41% use soft skills, including communication and creative problem-solving.
If you want a higher-paying job, honing your soft skills, showing leadership, and demonstrating your ability to manage projects and people are as important as hard skills—and rapidly becoming more important. People who can analyze data, apply the results, and make decisions are in demand and more protected from automation than those with hard skills only in almost every career category. In addition, your ability to learn and your flexibility in taking assignments will enable you to acquire the soft skills experience you need.
Soft Skills on Your Resume
In this atmosphere, your resume and LinkedIn profile must refer to soft skills. You should mention key soft skills listed in the job posting or advertisement, but you should put those words in context by describing when you:
- Were confronted with a problem and solved it
- Demonstrated team leadership, collaboration, or participation
- Resolved or prevented a customer problem
- Received recognition from peers, management, vendors, or customers for your work or attitude
- Took the initiative, turned around a project or team, or came up with an idea adopted by the team or company
- Spoke in public or wrote a report.
Your examples may be drawn from relevant experiences on the job, while volunteering, or during your education. You should also practice your interview skills to sound fluent and confident, demonstrating communicating skills right then.
If you need help creating a resume or LinkedIn profile that does justice to your soft skills, contact Robin’s Resumes® today. We make sure your resume shows you possess the skills that hiring managers and recruiters want most.