What Is Soft Skills And What Are 10 Soft Skills For Workplace?

What Is Soft Skills?

Soft skills are the skills that enable you to fit in at a workplace. They include your personality, attitude, flexibility, motivation, and manners. Soft skills are so important that they are often the reason employers decide whether to keep or promote an employee.

The Difference Between Hard Skills vs Soft Skills

Soft skills relate to your emotional intelligence and natural ability to interact well with others. They are useful across all industries and job types. Hard skills are technical skills or other job-specific expertise that are learned through education or training.

Top 10 Soft Skills List & Examples

Employers across every industry are looking for candidates with a strong set of soft skills. Although you can’t sit down in a classroom and learn them, you can still hone and develop these talents. And as with any skill, practice makes perfect.

While you’re putting together your job application, consider emphasizing these 10 in-demand soft skills throughout your resume.

1. Communication

Communication skills are the effective oral or written ways you express yourself in the workplace. Communication is a critical sales skill and is useful across a variety of industries — from human resources to management.

Some examples of communication skills include:

• Presentation skills

• Confidence

• Mutual respect

• Empathy

• Active listening

• Verbal communication

• Non-verbal communication

• Written communication

• Constructive feedback

• Friendliness

Here’s an example of how to effectively convey communication skills in the experience section of your resume (the example is underlined in orange):

2. Teamwork

Employers are always looking for candidates that are great at collaborating with a team. Teamwork skills help you operate well in a group and quickly and effectively accomplish tasks. Teamwork is crucial for careers in market research, event coordination, and software engineering.

Some examples of teamwork-related skills include:

• Conflict management

• Delegation

• Listening

• Active listening

• Collaboration

• Cooperation

• Coordination

• Idea exchange

• Mediation

• Negotiating

Here’s an example of how to highlight teamwork skills on a resume:

3. Adaptability

Adaptability and flexibility are essential skills for embracing and adjusting to change (like what we faced in 2020, and are currently facing in 2021). These soft skills are particularly important when working in fast-paced or constantly evolving work environments such as public relations, event management, tech, nursing, and advertising.

Some examples of adaptability-related skills include:

• Curiosity

• Self-management

• Decision-making

• Calmness

• Optimism

• Open-mindedness

• Analysis

• Self-confidence

• Organization

• Self-motivation

Here’s an example of how to highlight adaptability in your resume:

4. Problem-Solving

Problem-solving skills depend on your ability to use analytical and creative thinking to find solutions. No matter what industry you work in, problem-solving skills will always be valuable on some level because every job has issues that need to be tackled. Ultimately, candidates who can tackle problems and find intuitive solutions will always be in high demand.

Careers where problem-solving is the most vital include law enforcement, information technology, and medical-related fields.

Types of problem-solving skills include:

• Analysis

• Lateral thinking

• Logical reasoning

• Initiative

• Persistence

• Observation

• Persuasion

• Negotiation

• Brainstorming

• Decision making

Here’s an example of how to emphasize your problem-solving skills on your resume with a bullet point in your experience section:

5. Creativity

Creativity is a broad soft skill that can range from helping you develop innovative solutions to being an effective graphic designer. Creativity is considered by some experts to be the most important soft skill of the future.

While creativity is valuable for any industry, it’s especially important for instructional designers, architects, and artists.

Types of creative skills include:

• Divergent thinking

• Inspiration

• Imagination

• Reframing

• Mind mapping

• Insight

• Innovation

• Experimenting

• Questioning

• Design

Here’s an example of how to highlight your creativity in the experience section of your resume:

6. Work Ethic

The foundation for any great employee, work ethic is one of the most basic, widely transferable soft skills there is. By showcasing your work ethic, you communicate to employers that you believe in the importance of work and the value of putting forward your best effort.

Demonstrating work ethic should be important in every career, but is vital for high-stress jobs like first responders, teachers, and nurses.

Soft skills examples related to work ethic include:

• Integrity

• Responsibility

• Discipline

• Initiative

• Dependability

• Commitment

• Self-motivated

• Professionalism

• Teamwork

• Time-management

Here’s an example of how to showcase your work ethic on your resume with a bullet point:

7. Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills refer to your ability to communicate well and interact with others, maintain relationships, and otherwise leave a positive impression on people.

Interpersonal skills are used every day in most industries as you interact and communicate with co-workers and management. However, they’re especially vital for people who work in industries like customer service, realty, or financial planning.

Examples of skills related to interpersonal skills include:

• Empathy

• Humor

• Mentoring

• Networking

• Sensitivity

• Patience

• Tolerance

• Public speaking

• Positive reinforcement

• Diplomacy

Here’s an example of how to highlight your interpersonal skills in the experience section of your resume:

8. Time Management

Time management skills describe your ability to work efficiently and productively by using your time wisely. Most employers appreciate this soft skill, but it’s particularly important if you’re a project manager, middle manager, or work in loss prevention or legal fields.

Some skills related to time management skills include:

• Goal setting

• Prioritizing

• Self-starter

• Planning

• Decision making

• Focus

• Delegation

• Stress management

• Coping

• Organization

Here’s an example of an experience bullet point that highlights the candidate’s time management skills:

9. Leadership

Leadership skills refer to your ability to mentor others, train new hires, and guide teams. Strong leadership skills are also one of the most essential qualities when it comes to taking on more responsibility and being promoted within a company. Employers are always looking for reliable candidates with strong leadership skills to help them grow their companies.

Leadership skills are critical for entrepreneurs, all types of management, and even careers in teaching.

Some other skills connected to leadership include:

• Project management

• Empathy

• Selflessness

• Listening

• Humility

• Management skills

• Cultural intelligence

• Authenticity

• Versatility

• Generosity

• Trust

• Mentorship

• Hiring

Here’s a resume bullet point that demonstrates how to highlight your leadership skills:

10. Attention to Detail

Attention to detail refers to your ability to be thorough and accurate in your work, and notice even minor issues when they arise. Careers suited to detail-oriented people include accounting, pharmacology, and engineering.

Some additional soft skills related to attention to detail are:

• Critical observation

• Listening

• Organization

• Scheduling

• Analysis

• Introspection

• Memory

• Acuity

• Recall

• Questioning