Don’t Forget About the Soft Skills

As seniors in preparation for landing our ideal job after graduation, we oftentimes get so wrapped up in showcasing our hard skills in our resume to land us the interview, we forget about our soft skills. The hard skills will get our resume noticed by employers and ensure them we are capable of completing the job’s tasks. Although our hard skills are vital to display in our job search, our soft skills are what will land us the job. An employer is not solely focused on whether you have the ability to complete the job’s responsibilities but whether you will be a good personality fit for the organization. Below are important soft skills I believe employers desire to see during the personal interview.

Communication Skills – These soft skills are used in all aspects of your everyday life. Effectively communicating is vital in the workplace to ensure there are no mistakes. In the workplace, plan to communicate with teammates, managers, and clients on a daily basis in written form and verbally.

Decision Making – Being decisive about decisions will make you a desirable candidate. Hiring managers are not seeking for an employee who procrastinates, takes long periods of time to make decisions, or avoids solving issues altogether.

Drive – Demonstrate to the hiring manager that you are a diligent employee. This is the time to showcase your commitment to your work and how hard you will work to complete an assignment. Tell the hiring manager what motivates you to complete your work; this will allow them to learn more about your personality and whether you are a good fit for the organization’s culture.

Positive Attitude – Personally, this is my favorite soft skill I believe each candidate needs to showcase during their interviews. No hiring manager desires to hire a “negative Nancy.” Interviewers can easily pick up on comments or your nonverbal cues and decide quickly whether they believe you can help their team succeed or hold them back from success.

You can easily prepare to demonstrate your soft skills in an interview by determining which areas are your strongest and incorporate them into your responses. Enter the interview with a smile and show the interviewer how special of a candidate you really are!