Three Reasons You Should Emphasize Soft Skills on Your Resume
Your resume is one of the best methods to spotlight your professional experience, education, accomplishments, and understanding of the position you are applying to. Those are the “hard skills.” And while they are key to unlocking the door to phone screeners and initial interviews, they’re not the only skills that interest prospective employers. They also want to know about your “soft skills.”
If you’re not familiar with the term, soft skills are the common, non-job-specific skills that demonstrate how an individual works. While hard skills show employers that you’re successful in your respective field, soft skills establish your ability to successfully function in the workplace.
Wondering why you should put soft skills on your resume? Below, we’ll offer three of the top reasons you should call out these essential skills on your resume for increased attention from hiring managers.
1. Demonstrate Your Communication Skills
Communication is key in any workplace. It’s how individuals, teams, and departments inform each other of project progress, potential problems, and upcoming assignments. Communication is also essential for networking, client interactions, and business development. If a prospective candidate has remarkable job-specific skills but lacks the ability to effectively communicate, then companies are less likely to hire that individual. Why? A lack of strong communication skills can disrupt productivity, lead to confusion, and negatively impact a company’s appearance as an authority in its industry.
Submitting a clear, concise, and informative resume is the first step in demonstrating your stellar written communication skills. A wordy or lengthy resume shows that the applicant is not adept at summarizing key information.
Screening phone calls and job interviews are the places to demonstrate your verbal communication skills. When conversing with a potential employer, show them that you can express yourself clearly, succinctly, and confidently. Indirect and incoherent answers peppered with superfluous details indicate poor verbal communication skills.
Along with verbal communication, nonverbal communication skills are essential to winning over prospective employers. What you say is important—how you say it is equally important. You can convey your nonverbal communication skills by
maintaining eye contact with the hiring manager,
listening to them attentively,
and maintaining proper body language (no slouching, do not cross your arms, etc.).
Nonverbal communication skills convey focus, professionalism, and your ability to react appropriately.
2. Showcase Your Job Growth
When reviewing resumes, hiring managers often pay extra attention to candidates who demonstrate independent professional growth and development skills. When a candidate’s resume indicates a fondness for taking the initiative to grow their career, prospective employers take note. You show employers that you’re highly adaptable by including information about your industry- and non-industry-related coursework, certifications, and interest in evolving industry trends and technology. Adaptability is a highly appealing soft skill.
3. Illustrate Your Collaborative Nature
Completely autonomous positions are few and far between. Of course, businesses are interested in attracting talent that’s experienced and proficient in their respective field. However, they also want individuals who have the ability to collaborate effectively.
The best way to demonstrate your collaborative skills on your resume or cover letter is to include an example. Choose a specific project that you worked on with a team or another department. Succinctly explain the project, your collaborative role in its development, and how the team achieved positive results when the project was completed.
Demonstrating collaborative skills also affirms your communication skills, job growth and adaptability skills to the hiring manager. They know that an active collaborator is also an effective communicator who is interested in growth.
Now you know which soft skills to put on your resume and the reasons for their effectiveness. It’s time to put these skills into practice. The best way to do that is speak with the experts at Elite Personnel. We can help you find the best place to put all of your skills into action!