If you have ever applied for a job and were declined the position, you may have wondered why. Even though you may have been highly qualified for the position. The thing is, it is not enough to have a degree or know how to use technical tools. Selection is also influenced by your personality, social skills, and other abilities. Soft skills are becoming more important in companies. Learn everything you need to know about this concept.
What are companies looking for in a job applicant? These issues are not easily reflected in your resume or can be identified by a simple interview.
You have probably heard of soft skills, which are skills that are the engine of many businesses and will soon be an essential requirement for every type of job.
The term “soft skills” is a description of the social skills people have that enable them to be integrated into their work environment. They are becoming more important than other issues in the selection of candidates for specific jobs. This is true for certain types of jobs.
Soft skills are about the personality and mentality a worker has, or the way each person functions in a job with respect for their coworkers. They are more closely related to social skills than to your knowledge.
These skills are hard to replace, and they are tied to communication and emotion management. This is why companies are increasing their demand for them.
We have already mentioned that soft skills are considered in job selections for most in-demand jobs. These skills are increasingly important because they are essential for the performance of their work, and because they are acquired through years of training and experience. However, they also reflect the personality of the individual.
However, you must be able to distinguish between soft and hard skills. What are hard skills? Hard skills are not like soft skills. They are specific technical knowledge that is required to perform a job. These skills are the knowledge and skills that have been acquired through previous experience and academic training.
Hard skills include the candidate’s academic qualifications as well as computer skills and language skills.
All job applicants must meet the basic requirements for the job.
Let’s just say that soft skills are the ‘plus’ that distinguishes candidates with similar hard skills. Soft skills are crucial because they can make a difference in the selection of a candidate.
Soft skills are a set of transversal skills. Human resources departments use them to assess the emotional and social abilities of candidates. Let’s take a look at some examples of soft skills that are most in demand by companies today to better understand the topic.
When hiring for a job, companies look at teamwork as one of the most important soft skills.
Motivation: The ability to motivate others is an important quality for any job.
Leadership: This skill is not available to everyone and can make someone ideal for a job of responsibility.
Communication skills are essential for many jobs.
Decision-making ability: Candidates who are unsure of their abilities will be left out, as well as those who don’t know how to make the right decision at all times. This is why it is so important to possess the ability to be right all the time.
Negotiating ability : This skill is crucial for certain jobs or businesses, such as those that deal with the commercial aspect. Companies take this into consideration when hiring workers.
Customer orientation: This skill is somewhat related to the previous one. It is based on the ability to satisfy customers’ needs while also improving the company’s commercial results.
The human resources department will consider your soft skills depending on what job you are applying for. However, many other issues are equally important when hiring someone. We can also add empathy, commitment, quality, learning ability, flexibility, and effective time management to the list.
As we said, everything will depend on the type and amount of work done. This will influence the profile of the candidate being sought, which in turn will help to improve the company’s results.