Organisations are increasingly looking for soft skills but most people do not know how to articulate the soft skills they have. Never fear, we're here to help.

Because candidates with strong soft skills are in high demand, we want to get you up to speed on defining and evidencing your non-technical skill set.


What Are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are the interpersonal attributes you need to succeed in the workplace. They make your technical skills more impactful. They are how you work with and relate to others. 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.

Soft skills are different from technical skills, which relate to the subject-specific skills you gain through experience. These are often more quantifiable, and easier to learn than soft skills.

Soft skills are hard to teach, so employers want to know that candidates already have soft skills to be successful.


What Soft Skills Are Companies Always Looking For?

Below is a list of the most important soft skills employers look for. Work on these skills and emphasise and evidence them in Clu profile, applications and interviews.

Evidencing to your interviewers that you have key soft skills their company is seeking will help you stand out because you really know your strengths and areas for growth. This will significantly help you increase your chances of getting hired.

So what are the most common soft skills organisations look for and what are the supplementary soft skills that make someone good at them? See our list of what organisations using Clu think.


Communication

Communication skills are important in almost every job. You will likely need to communicate with people on the job, whether they are clients, customers, colleagues, employers, or vendors. You will often need to be able to speak clearly and politely with people in person, by phone, and in writing too.

You will also likely need to be a good listener. Employers want employees who can not only communicate their own ideas but who also listen well to others. Listening is a particularly important skill in customer service jobs.
• Listening
• Negotiation
• Nonverbal communication
• Persuasion
• Presentation
• Public speaking
• Reading body language
• Social skills
• Storytelling
• Verbal communication
• Visual communication
• Writing reports and proposals
• Writing skills

Critical Thinking

No matter what the job, employers want candidates who can analyse situations and make informed decisions. Whether you are working with data, teaching students, or fixing a home heating system, you need to be able to understand problems, think critically, and devise solutions. Skills related to critical thinking include creativity, flexibility, and curiosity.
• Adaptability
• Analytical
• Consultative
• Creative
• Critical thinking
• Curious
• Desire to learn
• Flexibility
• Innovative
• Logical thinking
• Problem solving
• Resilient
• Resourceful
• Transformational

Leadership

Leadership is not only displayed by senior managers. And whilst not every job opening is a senior manager role, most employers will want to know that you have the ability to make decisions when push comes to shove and can manage situations and people. The ability to step up to the plate in a difficult situation and help resolve it is something employers always look for in prospective employees.

If you are interviewing for a job that has the potential for advancement, the employer will want to know that you have what it takes to be a leader.

Other skills related to leadership include the ability to resolve problems and conflicts between people and to make executive decisions.
1. Accountability
2. Assertive
3. Conflict management
4. Constructive Feedback
5. Deal closing
6. Decision making
7. Delegation
8. Diplomatic
9. Emotional intelligence
10. Facilitation
11. Good listener
12. Has integrity
13. Inspiring people
14. Impactful
15. Leadership
16. Management
17. Managing difficult conversations
18. Managing remote/virtual teams
19. Meeting management
20. Mentoring
21. Motivating
22. Negotiation
23. People-centric
24. Project management
25. Resolving issues
26. Successful coaching
27. Supervising
28. Teamwork


Positive Attitude

Employers are always seeking people who will bring a positive attitude to the office. They want employees who will be friendly to others, eager to work, and generally a pleasure to be around. Being able to keep things positive is especially important if you're working in a fast-paced, high-stress work environment.
• Agile
• Approachable
• Confident
• Collaborative
• Determined
• Energetic
• Enthusiastic
• Friendly
• Good Listener
• Honest
• Humorous
• Inspiring
• Motivating
• Open-minded
• Passionate
• Patient
• Positive
• Respectable
• Respectfulness
• Self-aware
• Trusting & Trustworthy

Teamwork

In an ideal world, everyone will get along at work and the focus will always be on delivery. We all know, however, that that isn't the case. Whether you will be doing a lot of team projects or simply dealing with some difficult stakeholders, you need to be able to work effectively with the people around you. You need to be able to work with others even if you do not always see eye to eye.

Some skills related to teamwork include the ability to collaborate with others and to recognise and appreciate differences of views and approaches in a team. Another related skill is the ability to accept and apply feedback from others.
• Approachable
• Collaborative
• Communicative
• Consultative
• Conflict Management
• Controlled
• Diplomatic
• Emotional intelligent
• Empathetic
• Friendly
• Has Integrity
• Inclusive
• Leadership
• Negotiation
• Organised
• Patient
• Persuasive
• Problem Solver
• Reflective
• Self-aware


Work Ethic

Your work ethic defines how you show up at work, and really encapsulates a lot of the above. Employers are always looking for candidates with a strong work ethic. Such people come to work on time, manage stakeholder relationships and expectations, engage with their colleagues respectfully and stay focused and organised.

They are able to budget their time and complete their work to a good standard. While they can work independently, people with a strong work ethic can also follow instructions.

A strong work ethic is difficult to teach, so employers will be impressed if you can demonstrate it in your job application.
• Accountable
• Approachable
• Attentive
• Balanced
• Communicative
• Critical Thinker
• Culturally Sensitive
• Dependable
• Efficient
• Enthusiastic
• Focused
• Humble
• Independent
• Intuitive
• Loyal
• Motivating
• Objective
• Optimistic
• Organised
• Patient
• Persuasive
• Positive
• Reliable
• Resilient
• Resourceful
• Tactful
• Time management
• Trustworthy

More Soft Skills

Here are additional soft skills for resumes, cover letters, job applications, and interviews. Required skills will vary based on the job for which you're applying, so also review our list of skills listed by job and type of skill.
• Ambitious
• Analytical
• Assertive
• Brave
• Competitive
• Confident
• Continual Leadrner
• Controlled
• Courageous
• Confident
• Critical Thinker
• Customer-focused
• Dependable
• Determined
• Empathetic
• Energetic
• Ethical
• Friendly
• Globally Minded
• Growth Minded
• Humorous
• Innovative Thinker
• Logical Thinker
• Operational
• Persuasive
• Purposeful
• Storyteller
• Strategic
• Transformational

At Clu, we're reinventing the way you find jobs and are set up for success when you're in them. Clu is the most efficient and simple way to search for jobs at purpose-led companies.

https://getaclu.io/blog/?top-soft-skills-companies-are-looking-for