People use a broad range of skills to function at work and in their daily lives. Different modes of communication and the increase in automation have impacted how businesses operate and the interactions we have with one another. Previously, hard skills were the only skills necessary for career employment, but times have changed.
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Soft skills are personal attributes, such as innovative thinking and the ability to collaborate, making an individual a strong employee and a great colleague.
One survey found that 77% of employers sought new hires with solid communications skills versus only 50% of employers seeking strong computer skills.
Hard and technical skills are taught while many soft skills are innate and therefore more challenging to teach.
Adding soft skills to your resume is critical to landing the job you want.
Here, we show you how to write soft skills into your resume in a way that will help get you noticed more by recruiters and hiring managers.
What are soft skills?
Despite an increase in automation, the workplace is still a social environment, and soft skills are here to stay. These interpersonal skills allow employees to excel at such activities as teamwork and motivating others.
Even in highly technical roles, these skills are desirable. Whether you are a remote scientist in Alaska or a barista at a coffee shop, you will be using soft skills at some point in your daily work activities to interact with customers, colleagues, and others.
The first step in learning how to write soft skills into your resume is identifying which you possess. Below are the 10 most sought-after soft skills across all industries and how to use them in the workplace. Review this list to determine which soft skills apply to you:
- Communication: Employers seek effective communicators, especially now, as masked social interaction and the increase of the digital workspace make non-verbal cues harder to understand.
- Management: Overseeing projects, working effectively with multiple teams, and active listening are more integral than ever, especially as more people re-enter the workforce.
- Writing: Effective and clear written communication is essential for every field. Now that the office has gone global, it's crucial to get messages across clearly and timely.
- Organization: Effective organizational thinking increases productivity and decreases confusion in the workplace.
- Leadership: Thoughtful decision-making and the ability to adapt and take charge in difficult situations is always in demand, especially now with the unpredictable changes happening in several industries.
- Customer service: Knowing how to answer customers' questions and care for their needs is vital across several industries.
- Efficiency: Quickly absorbing and adapting to new information and proposing more effective solutions to problems is needed in many workplaces.
- Strategic thinking: Thorough planning and strategy execution are essential for business success and help deal with unexpected problems that could arise.
- Collaboration: Working with others professionally and productively is part of every industry. Being a great communicator who knows how to deal with stressful situations is an asset to any group.
- Responsibility: Displaying honesty, compassion, and respect to customers, peers, and management is how effective solutions form and workplace conflicts decrease.
How to write soft skills into your resume
While every resume should have a dedicated skills section, soft skills should appear — and become even more impactful — in other sections of your resume.
You can also use special sections to your advantage and highlight the skills most significant in your industry. The order and placement of these sections might differ on your final resume, depending on which resume format you choose. Here are some ideas about how to write soft skills into your resume:
- Professional summary: The summary is the starting point for readers and your elevator pitch. It's the first thing a recruiter will see on your resume, so you want to have your most impressive skills at the top. The perfect place to drop in a sentence regarding your communication and customer service skills or another exceptional soft skill would be in this section.
- Skills section (or sections): The narrative of your resume is enhanced by soft skills in various places, so a designated skills section can augment the leadership-showing anecdote you referred to in your summary section with a learned ability the employer is seeking. Remember, having a solid mix of hard and soft skills here is critical.
- Summary of qualifications: Adding this section to a combination or functional resume allows you to describe how you utilized excellent customer service practices to encourage repeat business in one to two sentences, for example.
- Work experience section: The work experience section of your resume provides multiple opportunities for you to show the positive results of your work through the use of your soft skills. Highlighting soft skills here can be very impactful. For example, "Assisted 20+ customers per day by effectively identifying needs, quickly gaining trust, approaching complex situations, and resolving problems to maximize efficiency."
4 tips for writing your skills section
The longer you work, the more opportunities you will have to strengthen and improve your soft skills. However, even if you are new to the workforce, it's possible to write a resume that provides examples of your soft skills that you've developed in other areas of your life, such as school, sports, or volunteering. Take some time to think about it and even ask your friends and family for their thoughts. Group interactions also provide a good source for figuring out what soft skills you already possess. Are you usually the group leader on projects? The one that reads the rules before starting a board game?
Here are four tips for writing soft skills into your skills section:
- Give context.
Showing off soft skills in your summary section and work experience is easier when you provide a narrative — a situation with results that can show the outcome of the action you took or the task you accomplished. For example, suppose you have sales experience. In that case, your summary could include something like: "Dedicated to welcoming customers, providing comprehensive service, and possessing an in-depth understanding of sales strategy and merchandising techniques." - Eliminate irrelevant skills.
Your skills list should contain a mix of 10-12 hard and soft skills, including as many as possible cited in the job ad. These are the skills employers want to see right away. Cull your list to eliminate anything that is not relevant to the role at hand. Nonessential skills will only distract a busy recruiter from getting to the meat of your expertise. Make sure to have a nice balance of hard and soft skills in your bulleted skills list as you can expand on your soft skills in other sections of your resume. - Create special sections.
If you are using a combination or functional resume format, you should also add separate sections that provide samples of your skills in action. A summary of qualifications is a great way to include accomplishments showing the use of a particular skill and the positive results accomplished. - Self-interview.
Soft skills take a lot of reflection, and determining which ones you're best at can be challenging. To better define the skills that suit you best, think about how you would answer questions like: "How did you solve a problem at work?" "What do you do when you disagree with a client or manager?" or "What's the best way for you to give or receive feedback?" Behavioral questions like these are often asked during the interview process to help employers determine how you use your soft skills and work with others, so taking the time to prepare responses to these scenarios can help you zero in on your best traits as well.
Soft skills by experience level
The soft skills you choose can vary highly based on your level of experience. While most employers are seeking great communicators at every level, here are some examples of how your soft skills on a resume might develop over time:
No experience:
- Leadership in sports and student government
- Attention to detail
- Organization skills
Entry-level:
- Critical thinking
- Strong communication
- Customer service
Mid-career:
- Highly effective communication
- Active listening skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Efficiency
Executive-level applicants:
- Effective leadership communications
- Project management
- Excellent presentation skills
Career change:
- Critical thinking
- Management training
- Active listening
Soft skills by resume format
Tailoring your skills section to match the level of experience in your resume is very important. Although soft skills can be shown in various ways in your summary and work experience sections, having dedicated space to highlight your best attributes is always a plus.
The functional and combination resume types are skills-based, so they provide an excellent platform for you to show relevant experience differently. The chronological resume is a better fit for job seekers with a relevant work history and career progression they want to highlight.
Chronological
The chronological resume has a shorter dedicated skills section but remains the resume standard for a reason. It draws attention to significant actions an employee has taken, as shown through short narratives in both the summary and work experience sections.
Who should use this resume format:
Mid-career professionals and executive-level job seekers benefit from using the chronological format. It provides the perfect layout for a long work history and instances of significant career progression.
How soft skills should appear on this resume format:
The work history section is a great place to show the result of your soft skills. You can write a few sentences detailing an event or action that required great leadership, efficiency, or teamwork and then explain the outcome through a numerical metric, for example: "Increased productivity 30% through active involvement in more direct communication programs."
Combination
A good choice for a variety of job seekers is the combination resume as it allows for a variety of skills to be shown alongside a relevant work history.
Who should use this resume format:
Professionals who want to show off both skills and experience should opt for a combination resume. It's also great if you are an entry-level worker with relevant outside experience, a mid-career worker with transferable skills, an executive-level applicant displaying certifications and a long work history, or a career changer trying to highlight their impact in multiple fields.
How soft skills should appear on this resume format:
Soft skills can appear in various ways depending on the combination format you choose. You can highlight excellent communication and organizational skills in a bulleted list. Or, describe your team management abilities in your professional summary or work experience section. This will draw attention to a specific moment of innovative thinking in your summary of qualifications.
Functional
For those new to an industry, entering the workforce, or returning to work after a long period of unemployment, the functional resume is the best way to enhance your skill set.
Who should use this format:
People with no direct work experience and those making career changes will be able to put their industry-relevant skills and educational background at the forefront of their resume in this format. It's an excellent way to show employers that you have the qualifications they are seeking.
How soft skills should appear on this resume format:
The Professional Skills section of this resume is where soft skills shine. By choosing your top soft skill, this section provides three or more instances where you can explain how you used "leadership" or "collaboration" in your experience and the positive results that took place.
5 ways a resume builder can help you write your soft skills
A professional Resume Builder can help ensure that you include the most sought-after soft skills for your role on your resume. It is an excellent way to make sure your "skills" section matches up with the examples of how you used soft skills in your "experience" section.
Here's how a resume builder can help:
- Content suggestions
- Job-specific skills
- Keyword recommendations
- ATS-friendly resume templates
- Customizable sections
Soft Skills FAQ
Below are three frequently asked questions about soft skills.
How can I improve my soft skills?
Improving your soft skills requires more creative thinking than learning something new in a technical capacity. You can take classes online to improve your leadership, communication, and public speaking skills or start locally by participating in community events that interest you, networking with past colleagues or classmates, and volunteering. The basis of excellent soft skills is interacting and working well with others, so even something like working on a project with a close friend can improve your interactions and communication with others.
I work in a highly technical field. Do I still need soft skills?
Critical thinking and interpersonal skills rank high on an employer's checklist across all industries, so even if you are the most experienced with a technological platform or have the right programming knowledge, not working well with others can prevent you from making the cut. Most recruiters and potential employers want a candidate with both the right soft and technical skills, someone who can perform the tasks at hand and work with their team and fit in with the company culture.
How do I use soft skills to show an employer I can adapt to multiple situations?
People with depth are always in demand. Great communicators, people who can manage stress well, and big-picture thinkers keep things on track. While school and employment themselves don't train in these concepts, there are many instances in which something you've accomplished has utilized this type of thinking. If you can show an employer that you have a strong presence and work ethic through your actions, it makes you a more integral part of an organization. Soft skills like "attention to detail" and "attentiveness" already show through actionable demonstrations that you can adapt to change; it's honing these skills that will set you apart.
Learn more about how to write soft skills
Learn more about soft skills and how to integrate them into your job application here:
