What Are Soft Skills and Why Are They Important?

Written by Valentine Fabre

If you have ever been asked in an interview to “Tell me about a time when things did not go as planned at work,” or “Tell us how you prioritise your tasks under pressure” — then you have been inquired about your soft skills. To illustrate what these are, here is everything you need to know about them, why and how to develop them. 

What Are Soft Skills?

Contrary to hard skills, which are acquired through education, courses and training programmes and are easily quantifiable competencies, such as copywriting or pattern making — soft skills are characteristics and interpersonal traits that are more vague and therefore harder to define. They include skills such as communication, adaptability, time management, negotiation, leadership and decision-making.

Your soft skills determine how you interact with other people, whether they be your colleagues, line managers or clients. Indeed, employers place great emphasis on soft skills, which often indicate a person’s personal and professional demeanour. Therefore, learning how to showcase them in your CV, during an interview and in the workplace is imperative to advancing your career. 

How Do I Assess My Soft Skills? 

First, it is important to remember that while many soft skills may be innate, like creativity and sociability, they are also possible to learn and improve. By realising what your strengths and weaknesses are, and then comparing them to the skill set required to succeed in your chosen career path, you can create a roadmap to develop them over time.

Look back to your past experience, whether within a professional or educational setting or even hobbies like sports or volunteering. Ask yourself, how did you interact with people around you? Did you find it easy to approach new people and communicate your ideas with them? Were you the one leading the team through difficult situations? Did you find it easy to adapt to new environments and had no trouble picking up new tasks with almost no adjustment needed? 

Your soft skills might manifest in the most anecdotal situations, so spend time reflecting on such interactions to gain your sense of self. 

How Do I Address Lacking Certain Soft Skills?

Since soft skills encompass so many competencies, it is not realistic for you to master them all — however, you are expected to be able to communicate them, as well as pragmatic ways to overcome them.

For example, when an interviewer asks you to “Share a time you were in a disagreement with a superior,” it is best to be honest and specify what you have learnt from that experience, or what would you do differently now if you found yourself in that situation again.  If, say, you are not very good at time management, share the new ways you have developed to structure your workload to ensure that you meet your deadlines.

Interviewers ask these sorts of questions to evaluate your character in a work environment. Ultimately, the most important soft skills are your positivity and curiosity.

It is National Career Week in the UK, which aims to promote career guidance. Book a coaching session with our career experts at The Glowth Academy to explore your set of soft skills and how they can help you take the next step in your professional journey.

Written by Valentine Fabre