What Are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are both personal habits and interpersonal skills that can be learned and refined with practice. As opposed to hard skills, which are commonly technical, soft skills are typically associated with one’s personality traits. A great way to understand it is to think of them as relational abilities, e.g., how you engage and interact with other people. Conversely, hard skills are your technical competencies, such as knowledge and experience with software or tools.

Soft skills can have a distinct impact on your success in both interviews and as you engage with team members on the job. Read on to learn more about the type of interpersonal skills employers value the most, how to develop new abilities, and how to improve the ones you already have.

Introduction to Soft Skills

The term “soft skill” refers to interpersonal skills that someone can learn or develop. They exist in broad categories, such as “communication skills”, but can also be more niche or more refined, such as “non-verbal communication.”

These interpersonal skills and abilities are highly valued in the workplace.

While Deming notes that these are sometimes called “non-cognitive skills”, it does not mean there is no mental activity involved. Instead, the terminology more specifically relates to the understanding that soft skills are more like habits. Learning, growing, and enhancing them are often treated in much the same way.

As well, many interpersonal skills and one’s proficiency with them can be part nature and part nurture. This is why a report in the BBC called them “intangible qualities companies crave.”

These are talents that you may express as a natural part of your personality which can take you exceptionally far in your career. That said, they can also be learned or acquired through practice and habit changes.

List of Key Soft Skills

All of these interpersonal skills are important in the workplace, but which are the most important to learn and grow? That can be answered in one of several ways: 

1. You can research job postings from companies hiring in your field to identify the ones they believe are important for those roles.
2. Ask managers, HR leaders, or talent development leaders at your company which ones they value and are in high demand.
3. Lean into existing market-level research on soft skills.

These first two points are something you can and should do independently, but to save you time, we’ve gathered data that examined thousands of job posts to determine which interpersonal skills employers want candidates to have.

The researchers also found that the number of times employers asked for soft skill sets in job posts significantly increased following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The authors also note that “The overall demand for soft skills is higher than that for digital skills.”

This list comprises the high-level view of abilities that employers value most. Many of these skill sets have subcategories that you may need to consider. Here are a few ways you can whittle down the top three in-demand categories (communication, analytical/critical thinking, and problem-solving).

Types of Communication Skills

Communication is necessary for every type of job, from individual contributors to leadership-level positions. Context matters for this soft skill, as it will determine which type of communication you need to both be understood by and understand others in a way that leads to effective outcomes at work. 

Here are some subcategories for communication:

• Verbal communication: An ability to express ideas clearly and confidently in speech.
• Written communication: The ability to craft clear, concise, and coherent written text in emails, reports, and other written areas. 
• Active listening: Your ability to actively concentrate, understand, respond to, and remember what is being said in a conversation.
• Non-verbal communication: The ability to both use and understand the use of body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice in a way that complements or contradicts your verbal communication.
• Presentation delivery: An ability to effectively present information to groups using presentation tools and your ability to engage an audience as you present information.
• Persuasion and negotiation: Your ability to convince others to understand your point of view and, importantly, to help reach a mutual agreement when working with others in your organization or team.

Types of Analytical or Critical Thinking Skills

Analytical and critical thinking skills are those that involve taking in complex information and then processing that information in a clear and logical way. This skill is tied very intimately with communication as your ability to think critically about inputs is enhanced by your ability to communicate that understanding.

Here are some subcategories for analytical/critical thinking:

• Logical reasoning: The ability to use clear and rational thinking to solve problems.
• Creative thinking: An ability to generate new and innovative ideas or solutions.
• Strategic planning: Your ability to see the “bigger picture” in a way that makes it easier to set realistic goals and determine how to achieve those goals.
• Attention to detail: An ability to complete tasks thoroughly and accurately as you notice and address small or minor points that others may overlook.

Types of Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills are those mental practices that help you effectively and efficiently navigate different challenges. Problem-solving skills and analytical skills are highly related. In fact, you’ll likely find that you need to use analytical skills to solve unique problems in the workplace. 

Here are some subcategories for problem-solving:

• Identifying problems: Your ability to spot problems as they arise and before they become bigger problems that are harder to solve.
• Resourcefulness: The ability to not only understand what resources and solutions exist to help you solve your problem but also an understanding of how to apply them.
• Risk management: An ability to identify, evaluate, and prioritize risks and to develop strategies to maintain them.
• Making decisions under pressure: The ability to make quick, effective, and low-risk decisions even within high-stress and time-sensitive situations.
• Implementing solutions: Your ability to quickly put solutions into action and to monitor the effectiveness or success of your actions. 

Soft Skills vs Hard Skills

Both soft and hard skills are important in the workplace, but they are not treated the same by employers or in the hiring process. Soft skills are often based on habits, relationships, and emotional intelligence (EQ). Meanwhile, hard skills are based on technical competencies that are learned in a variety of formal and informal ways (e.g., traditional schooling, self-directed courses, or hands-on training). 

Question: Which is more important, hard skills or soft skills?

The answer to that is usually: It depends. 

Both hard skills and soft are necessary in the workplace, but some jobs lean more heavily one way or the other. That said, every job will require both. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the most commonly needed abilities from both categories, practice them, and show your competency on your resume, job applications, cover letters, and in the workplace. 

When you apply for a job, for example, a company’s applicant tracking system (ATS) may assign a score based on the identified use of key terms. Doing a bit of research ahead of time and honestly listing the capabilities you have that align with that job post will help you get past the initial screening.

Keep in mind: Once you get to the individual interview phase, employers can and will assess both your hard skills and interpersonal skills in various ways. This is why it’s important to be honest about your abilities. Sometimes, that could include listing your level of experience or competency, such as “intermediate” or “expert.”

Developing Soft Skills

Although often seen as innate qualities of one’s personality, they can be learned. As with hard skills, the best way to master interpersonal skills is to follow a three-step process:

1. Identify the skill you want to learn. Find classes, courses, training materials, or a mentor/coach who can help you better self-assess your current skill level, what to do to improve, and how to make those improvements on a daily basis.
2. Practice your abilities. As you investigate the skills you want and the strategies needed to improve them, actively put them into practice. Be conscious and thoughtful about your practice. For example, you may want to create a tracking sheet to record your practice.
3. Reflect on your practice. Reflection is an important learning technique that will help you improve your abilities. As you practice, record instances where you get to use them, and make sure to journal your self-reflections on your growth. Note where you feel you’ve improved and where you still need help. If you have a mentor or coach, walk through your practices and reflections with them.

Impact of Soft Skills on Your Career Progression

Developing these skills benefits both workers and the companies they work for. In fact, an economic study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research by economists from the University of Michigan, Boston College, and Harvard University found that on-the-job soft skills training increased worker productivity and wages. 

Based on an 80-hour program for factory workers that provided training in problem-solving; decision-making; time and stress management; and several other soft skills, the researchers note that:

“...the net return to the firm was large: 258 percent eight months after program completion.”

That’s huge and underscores the value of developing interpersonal skills both from an employer and employee perspective. This will help you:

• Create better and more convincing resumes, cover letters, and job applications
• Present yourself more effectively in job interviews
• Improve your on-the-job communication and collaboration with colleagues and leaders
• Make you more noticeable to leaders during promotion discussions
• Increase your chance of getting promoted to leadership positions that come with better salaries and compensation packages

Getting to that last point starts with self-analysis. Identify the ones you still need to learn, create a plan to learn them, and then practice and reflect on those skills in a meaningful and actionable way.