List of Soft Skills Employers Value Today! ୧⍢⃝୨ (Updated 2023)

I. Introduction

Getting a new job and standing out in a sea of resumes has never been easy. You have to be eager, have the right qualifications and experience, and sometimes even that isn’t enough. Why? Well, because all the other candidates have the same or similar resumes to yours, of course.

In today’s economy and the dog-eat-dog world we live in, standing out is much harder than it was several decades ago. That’s why we polish our resumes, have pristine references, and try our hardest to get noticed.

Well, do you know what WILL make you stand out in the crowd? Having transferable soft skills in the workplace.

Now, if I just lost some of you, that only means that you should keep reading. I know many people think that putting soft skills like “communication” is a waste of resume space, but it isn’t. Hiring managers look into everything. Finding the perfect candidate is just as hard as finding a good job. For example, employers find soft skills like critical thinking in short supply. Now that’s something you can definitely take advantage of.

Today, when people are struggling to get work, soft skills are more critical than ever. Luckily, unlike higher education or hard skills, they aren’t as challenging to acquire. You just have to know which ones the hiring managers are looking for and how to present them.

Don’t worry — I have your back. We’ll go over a list of top soft skills for resume and everything else you need to know about them in order to land that interview and, hopefully, the job! Let’s get started!

II. What Are Soft Skills Anyway?

Soft skills are everything apart from your expertise, which makes you a great worker. So, while it’s crucial that you have the necessary knowledge of how the job you’re applying for actually needs to be done, it’s equally important that you’re covered on the other front.

Soft skills have a lot to do with your personality, attitude, and motivation. To put it in perspective, let’s say you’re applying for the front desk manager position at an office. You have the necessary knowledge; you know how all the filing programs work and you’re a wizard when it comes to scheduling shifts. However, your communication skills are lacking. You describe yourself as “definitely not a people person.”

What does that mean? Unfortunately, it means that you aren’t precisely a good fit for the job. Although technical knowledge is essential, a hiring manager would more than likely be looking at soft skills that a front desk manager needs to have. Being good with people and communicating clearly, effortlessly, and openly are vital for that particular job. A front desk manager serves as a bridge between clients and staff and is supposed to juggle making everyone happy. How will you do that if you don’t have the necessary skills?

Now, I’m not saying that you have to have exceptional interpersonal skills in order to get the job. But the hiring manager definitely has to think you have them.

Soft skills are a good indicator of how you’ll do the job regardless of the day-to-day tasks and how you’ll fit into the team. Some people would call soft skills “common sense.” And while I’m inclined to agree, it takes more than that to have a well-rounded resume that will draw your potential employer’s eye.

If you’re still wondering what precisely soft skills are, here’s a list to help you out:

• Communication
• Organization
• Emotional Intelligence
• Decision Making
• Critical Thinking
• Analytical and Quantitative Skills
• Teamwork
• Positive Attitude
• Problem Solving
• Creativity
• Work Ethic
• Interpersonal Skills
• Time Management
• Leadership
• Attention to Detail
• Computer Skills
• Performing Under Pressure
• Social Skills

As you can see, it’s quite an extensive list. Luckily, you probably already excel at several (if not most). Another piece of good news I have for you is that you can definitely work on improving the soft skills that aren’t in your repertoire.

➤ Soft vs. Hard Skills

As you probably gathered so far, soft skills aren’t something a high school or university class can teach you. Unlike your hard skills that have to do with your education or practical knowledge from your field of expertise, soft skills aren’t teachable.
 
Well, soft skills aren’t teachable to the same extent as hard skills. No matter what it is that you do, your employer can always teach you something new. Maybe it’s a new program or a different approach to the job you haven’t thought of. However, they can never teach you to be a better communicator or change your personality traits.
 
That’s how soft and hard skills differ. Aside from that, soft skills are also much more transferable.

➤ What Does Transferable Mean?

As I mentioned, soft skills are intangible. They aren’t as easy to measure. You can’t really test work ethic before you hire someone, right? 94% of recruiters look for soft skills in their potential employees. Why? Because they believe that soft skills are what make a person eligible for advancement.
 
You’ll rarely come across a job position that will require you to stay at that one job with no chances of advancement. Usually, hiring managers look for potential employees that have scalability. That means that they are not only a good fit for the position they are applying for but also for positions above it. They look for leaders.
 
And to be a leader, you have to have transferable skills. Those are the skills that are portable — you can transfer them from one position to another. Most of your skills, even hard ones, are transferable, but soft skills like collaboration, teamwork, organization, etc., are transferable even if you’re switching fields. Even if the job you’re applying for is entirely different than the one you’re doing now (or have done in the past), your transferable skills will come in handy. They are what makes you employable.

Of course, a great set of soft skills won’t necessarily land you a job on their own. You still have to be a good candidate in terms of hard skills. I’m not saying that you can get your dream job just based on being a good communicator and being adaptable. However, I am saying that without soft skills, your hard skills won’t matter as much.
 
If a hiring manager has to choose between two equally educated candidates with similar backgrounds and experience, they will check their list of soft skills and hard skills to see which one is a better fit. If one of the candidates is a people person while the other is entirely anti-social, you know who will get the job offer, right?

III. The Updated List of Soft Skills Employers Value Today

Since soft skills are basically an overview of how well you work with others, they are what differentiates a great candidate from an adequate candidate. They reflect potential. No one needs to know everything about the job before they start, but they have to be willing to learn, adapt, and fit into the existing team. If you have the necessary soft skills, the hiring managers will know that you’re more than just merely adequate.

Most soft skills have to do with interpersonal interaction. That’s perfectly logical given that most (if not all) jobs include at least some human interaction. Even if your job doesn’t require you to deal directly with clients, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to be social and civil. After all, you still have your colleagues to think about.

Having a good relationship with the people you work with is essential not only for your productivity but also for your mental health. 46% of workers think that having work friends improves their overall happiness. Hiring managers are aware of that (to put it lightly), so they’ll always look for candidates that can fit into the existing team seamlessly and effortlessly.

So, now that we know what they are, let’s see some examples of soft skills, shall we?

➤ Communication

Perhaps the most valuable (and transferable) soft skill on my list is communication. Communication has to do with a lot more than how you say the things you need to say. It’s really not that simple.
 
To be a good communicator, you also have to be a good listener. You need to listen to people you work with and hear what they are saying to you both out loud and via subcontext. Similarly, you need to be able to get your ideas and thoughts to come across clearly and concisely.

Communication involves:

• listening
• drawing logical conclusions
• nonverbal communication
• reading body language
• building rapport
• negotiating
• persuasion
• being able to adapt your language and presentation for different audiences quickly
• writing and visual communication skills
• acting on the information given

There’s a vast difference between communication and effective communication. Effective communication leaves no room for misunderstandings. It’s clear, concise, and said with confidence. However, a huge part of effective communication is also accepting feedback and acting on it.
 
That’s the most critical skill that you, as a potential employee, have. If a hiring manager knows that you’re quick to not only listen to feedback but change what you’re doing because of it, they’ll be more likely to hire you.

➤ Organization

Organizing your time and work tasks is essential for success. Sure, there are many people out there who will tell you that their “organized chaos” works well for them and has brought them success.
 
However, those people probably haven’t had to work with others and incorporate them into their chaos. Alternatively, they had and are just blissfully unaware of how their lack of organizational skills has affected their peers’ or employees’ productivity, mood, and overall performance.

Being good at organization doesn’t mean just keeping your work desk tidy and your meeting schedule chaos-free. Being on time and not missing any meetings is a given for any worker. However, having good organizational skills also means that you excel at:

• delegating
• prioritizing
• collaborating
• mental organization
• planning

Having a good work-life balance is a good indicator of having stellar organizational skills. If someone is so busy they don’t have time for their friends and family, they might have a high-profile, stressful job. However, they also might have bad organizational skills.
 
That’s one of the reasons hiring managers ask about your hobbies and interests in job interviews. It’s not that they particularly care how you fill your time; it’s that they are interested in seeing if you have the time to do anything other than your job. 

➤ Emotional Intelligence

You’ve probably heard hiring managers talk about the importance of emotional intelligence. These buzzwords surface from time to time in the HR field, and sometimes people get tired of hearing them. However, emotional intelligence isn’t just a buzzword. It’s something we should all work on and develop, both for our well-being and potential professional success.

Emotional intelligence includes:

• motivation
• empathy
• self-regulation
• self-awareness
• social skills
• perceiving and regulating emotions
• understanding emotions and reactions of others
• managing your own emotions

This particular soft skill is essential in the workplace. If you can’t manage your emotions successfully, you’ll have strained relationships with the people you work with. It doesn’t matter if those people are clients or other employees. Having a strained relationship with anyone will tank your productivity.

➤ Decision Making

If you’re a newbie on the job market or are starting a new job and you aren’t confident in your skills, you probably have a hard time making decisions at work. However, it is an essential soft skill that hiring managers are looking for. Not being able to make decisions quickly and confidently means that you constantly have to be micromanaged.

Contrary to popular belief, managers don’t really like to do that to their employees. They prefer self-starters who listen to both instructions and feedback and then make the necessary decisions independently.
 
Those that can make solid decisions quickly are good potential leaders. Therefore, the better you are at this skill, the more you’re contributing to the team and the company, and the quicker you are to excel.

Decision-making skills include:

• perceiving a problem or an opportunity
• coming up with potential solutions
• evaluating said solutions and doing an assessment of each one
• deciding on a course of action and implementing it
• evaluating the potential success

➤ Critical thinking

To be able to be a good decision-maker, you need to be an excellent critical thinker. Sure, you’ll probably encounter problems on your job that will be easy to solve. You’ll use previous knowledge and experience and apply solutions you know work. However, what happens when you encounter a problem that you haven’t come across in the past?
 
That’s where critical thinking comes into play. When you come across a problem, you need to analyze it and make an informed decision. You also need to think out of the box. That’s another buzz term that most candidates hate. But hate it or not, it’s a vital skill. Thinking up solutions that are not obvious is a fantastic trait that will put you head and shoulders above others.

Critical thinking includes:

• creativity
• adaptability
• critical observation
• analytical skills
• logical thinking
• research skills
• innovation
• willingness to learn

➤ Analytical and Quantitative Skills

Although analytical skills go hand in hand with critical thinking, not everyone is capable of both. Some positions require the candidates to quickly go over a massive amount of information, sort it, and spot trends in it. Being a good critical thinker can’t really help you there unless you have analytical skills.

Just collecting data doesn’t do a company any good. You also have to sort it and do something with it. Being able to make conclusions that potentially lead to solutions that would improve your work or the work of others and advance the company’s bottom line is a massive advantage.

Analytical and quantitative skills include:

• data gathering
• brainstorming
• data comparison
• data classification
• predictive modeling
• strategic planning
• data interpretation
• data integration
• decision making

➤ Teamwork

Working well with others is the pinnacle of being a good employee. Not all people work or function in the same way. Being a good teammate means that you can adapt to others and communicate and collaborate with them regardless of how they operate.
 
Working in a team means listening to others, respecting their opinion (even if it’s different from yours), incorporating their input, and negotiating with them. Finding the middle ground that works for all members of the team means that sometimes you make hard compromises. However, it also means that sometimes you have to negotiate and persuade others that your way is the right way. Knowing when to go one of these two ways and finding a good solution each time means that you’re a good employee and, more importantly, a good team worker.

Teamwork includes:

• awareness of others and their needs
• self-awareness
• empathy
• interpersonal skills
• networking
• negotiation skills
• skills of persuasion
• collaboration
• compromising

Giving respectful feedback in a way that will make the other person accept it as well as objectively receiving input from others is also a part of being a good team player.

➤ Positive Attitude

Having a positive attitude might not seem like a skill. However, it really is. That’s not something that you can fake because most people can spot an insincere attitude a mile away. Therefore, having and maintaining a positive attitude has to do with your personality and character. It’s not something they can teach you on the job.

Having a positive attitude doesn’t just mean walking into the office with a smile on your face. It means that you’re pleasant to be around and work with, that you’re eager to get the job done, and that you can be friendly no matter the atmosphere.

A positive attitude includes:

• having high energy
• having a sense of humor
• being courteous
• being respectful
• having patience
• being enthusiastic
• cooperation
• confidence
• overall friendliness
• being honest

➤ Problem Solving

Problem-solving goes hand in hand with other list of soft skills. However, it’s still a separate ability. For example, decision-making and problem-solving are connected. However, you can be quick to make decisions without being a good problem solver. Making a decision doesn’t mean much if it’s the wrong one.
 
Knowing how to pinpoint problems, analyze them, and come up with possible solutions is much more important than simply making a decision and calling it a day.
 
Problem solving also has a lot to do with objectivity. Any job requires you to leave your emotions at the door and make objective decisions based on the company goals. Still, not many people can make a clean cut like that. That’s why problem-solving is such a valuable soft skill.
 
Furthermore, being able to quickly solve problems (while also being thorough) and not get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of problems that pop up on any given day is a skill that’s in high demand.

➤ Creativity

As mentioned in the previous chapter, creativity is vital no matter what type of job you have. It’s what makes you an excellent critical thinker and helps you solve problems. Being a creative thinker means that you can bring a unique perspective and shine new light on existing issues.
 
That’s why hiring managers are always looking for creative people, even if the job doesn’t require a lot of creativity. Seeing ordinary things in an extraordinary way is a great skill to have.

Being a creative thinker also means you are curious and have an eagerness to learn. On average, hiring managers hire people who can advance three times as often as those that can’t. Being willing (and even eager) to learn new things and suck up new information as a sponge gives you a leg up on the competition. It means that you will adapt and complete your work tasks and that you’ll probably help others and learn about the entire inner workings of the company (as opposed to simply doing your part and calling it a day).
 
That makes you a versatile worker, and that is a trait that’s in high demand.

➤ Work Ethic

Work ethic is something every company is looking for. They want to know that they are hiring a responsible worker who can excel in all fields and become a successful employee. You can’t do that unless you have a strong attitude.

Work ethic is vital because it’s not something an employer can teach you. It’s something you build and maintain your entire life. So, unlike other soft skills that can be improved in the workplace, work ethic is something you have to have from the get-go.

Again, I repeat that soft skills are hard to measure and test for. Therefore, the hiring manager can only take you for your word. However, if you lie, that will quickly become painfully apparent. Work ethic means that your work is done on time, with respect towards not only your deadlines but also other workers’.

It also means that you don’t have to rely on others to manage you or remind you of your tasks and that you’re able to stay focused on your tasks while also not neglecting other work that might need to be done.

It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many people have poor work ethics that usually leads to their superiors micromanaging them. You want to avoid that at all costs.

➤More Soft Skills That Might Come In Handy

Of course, my list of soft skills in no way reflects ALL the skills you need or possess. However, the eleven I listed are the ones hiring managers most often look for or value the most.

Aside from those, other soft skills that employers value that you can easily showcase in your resume are:

• Interpersonal skills
• Time management
• Leadership
• Attention to detail
• Computer skills
• Performing under pressure
• Social skills

IV. Why Are Soft Skills Important?

By now, the importance of soft skills is evident. They are a reflection of how well you engage and work with others. In fact, they are the clearest indicator of what type of a worker you’ll be.

Being a valuable asset that the company will want to acquire by any means necessary isn’t an easy feat. However, having the right set of soft skills can help you get there.

Every hiring manager is looking for that special someone that will fill a specific role in their company. They know which traits their ideal candidate has, so make sure your resume (soft skills included) reflects that. Candidates usually just skim over the soft skill section in their resume because they are unaware of their value and importance.

A hiring manager is looking for an asset. They are looking for someone who will contribute to the company in more ways than simply getting the job done. That means they need someone who’s adaptable, a quick learner, eager to work, and a good communicator. That might sound simple, but having a perfect combination of soft skills is actually rare.

Still, even if you don’t have the exact set a hiring manager is looking for, you still need to list those that you do have (that are a good fit for the job). If you skip them, you might not get a callback or a call for an interview.

Since hiring managers have to take you for your word that you actually possess the skills you say you do, make sure to have an example of each of them ready at the job interview.

V. How to Include Soft Skills on Your Resume

Ideally, you’ll have a whole section dedicated exclusively to your list of soft skills. However, just listing them isn’t really enough. You have to clearly and concisely provide an example for each of them.

The best way to do that is to stick to a few chosen soft skills. I understand the urge to showcase everything that you know and can do. However, your space is highly limited, and you have to use it wisely. No one wants to read a three-page resume. Who has time for that?

Well, do you know who doesn’t? The hiring managers because they get dozens if not hundreds of resumes every day. So, being concise is key. However, you also have to provide substantial information. If you can quantify your skills and include valuable data of how that particular skill helped you in the past, do that.

Saying you’re a good team player and saying that your ability to collaborate with others and compromise when necessary resulted in a 95% success rate in team projects are two completely different things.

➤ How Do I Pick Soft Skills for My Resume?

In order to wow the socks off of the hiring manager, you need to find the sweet spot between your strongest assets and the soft skills they are looking for. Pay attention to the wording in the job ad. Make sure to use any soft skills that the ad mentions. However, also note those skills that you truly excel at.

Don’t list more than 3 to 5 soft skills. If you go overboard, your resume will look too crowded, and it won’t merit any attention.

Not everyone has the same skillset, even if they are applying for the same job and have similar backgrounds. That’s why it’s vital that you work on diversifying your soft skills. They are what can make you either blend in or stand out in the crowd of potential candidates.

Having strong soft skills will definitely help you land a job. I’ve tried to mention as many of them that would come in handy for all types of job positions, but if I forgot some, feel free to comment below and let me know. Which soft skills do you think are the most important? And which have made the most significant impact on hiring managers during interviews? I can’t wait to hear from you!

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