Five Soft Skills That Will Help You Land a Job

By Emily Valentine

With more and more school leavers opting to head to university, the job market is becoming increasingly saturated with eager and talented graduates. While your in-depth understanding of the works of Shakespeare or the ability to code an entire website in record time could help you get your dream job, there are some other (less theoretical or technical) soft skills that might come in handy as well.  

The importance of personal attributes and non-technical skills is on the rise. Soft skills (otherwise known as interpersonal skills) were identified in LinkedIn’s 2017 Global Recruiting Trends Survey as being a key area for candidate assessment for the year ahead and beyond. The World Economic Forum also indicates that “employers are looking beyond qualifications to figure out what other skills their candidates have”.

Most employers will want to test soft skills at interview, but to get ahead of the game you might want to throw a few examples into your LinkedIn profile or CV. Just make sure you do it in a tangible way that’s backed up by evidence. 

Communication

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Whether verbal or written, employers love a good communicator. When they’re looking through your LinkedIn profile, your website, your CV and your social media feeds, they’ll be searching for evidence you know how to communicate in a polite and professional way. Check (and double check) anything you’ve made public and look at it from a potential employer’s point of view. Make sure you don’t fall at the first hurdle.

Once you get to interview stage, your verbal communication skills will be tested to the max, so keep calm, don’t speak too quickly, and go back to any questions you feel you didn’t answer to your full potential.

Problem solving

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The ability to solve a problem is often more important to an employer than someone who never makes any mistakes. After all, we’re only human. So, while it might be tempting to answer the popular “tell us about a time you resolved conflict” question by saying you’ve never encountered any, it won’t win you any brownie points. 

University life is filled with problems that need to be overcome, so pick a real example and show you’re able to deal with problematic issues in a mature and thoughtful manner.

Teamwork

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The majority of jobs will require you to work with other people, so it’s essential you can show you’re a team player at interview. Employers will often ask you for an example of a time you had to work as part of a team, and what role you played within it. They don’t necessarily want to hear you were the leader of the pack, instead they’re interested to hear how you contributed to the project. 

While it might be tempting to say you’re a brilliant and confident team leader, it’s going to be obvious you might not be telling the truth if you’re the shy retiring type. Instead, focus on your best attributes. Maybe your excellent time management skills helped to keep the project on track?

Working under pressure

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Work can be tough at times, and your new potential employer wants to see you’re the sort of person who won’t crumble under pressure. Having to cope with university deadlines and exams can put even the coolest of cucumbers under stress, so you’re already well equipped to demonstrate how you have the ability to keep calm and collected.

Flexibility

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The workplace can be a changeable thing, and sometimes you might have to roll up your sleeves and help with a task or project you’re not entirely familiar with. You might even have to work a few extra hours here or there when there’s a tight deadline coming up. Your new employer will want to see whether you’re flexible, with a can-do attitude. So, if they ask you how you might feel about going the extra mile, respond in a positive way.

Before your reach interview stage, be sure to have a few examples up your sleeve. All through university, whether it be through team exercises or personal projects, you’ll have inadvertently been building up an arsenal of soft skills. Some universities are also teaching soft skills alongside their degree courses, so if you’re lucky enough to get the opportunity, grab it with both hands.

Emily Valentine writes graduate careers advice for Inspiring Interns. Opportunities on their books include graduate marketing jobs, and graduate jobs Manchester.

(Lead image: Will Folsom (Flickr))