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Winning Soft Skills for Your Resume – How to Impress HR!
If you've ever had a job, you probably have a resume. The essence of a CV is to briefly, concisely, and clearly summarize your education and work experience, as well as the other valuable skills you bring to the table, making you more attractive to recruitment professionals.
Our latest blog post is a collection of popular but often misused soft skills that can help you if you use them correctly. Read on and learn with us!
What Are Soft Skills?
It’s easier to understand soft skills by comparing them to hard skills: hard skills are the technical abilities you learn through education, while soft skills are those that can't be taught. While hard skills focus more on your professional experience and competencies that can be measured and verified, soft skills are subjective and highlight your personal attributes and values: how you behave in certain situations or what motivates you in your daily tasks.
Listing and articulating soft skills effectively in a resume means tailoring them to the specific job you’re applying for. Remember, different qualities are important for a call center intern versus a bank clerk, so never submit the same “template” resume to every job. Recruitment professionals can easily spot if you’re using flashy phrases from the internet without much substance behind them.
How to "Sell" Yourself Correctly!
Isn’t it frustrating when job ads are filled with phrases like “young team,” “attractive benefits package,” or “development opportunities”? Just as these phrases are vague to you, filler employee soft skills can seem equally unimpressive to HR professionals if you don’t provide any context.
We know there are so-called mandatory expressions that every resume needs. There’s nothing wrong with these as long as they are relevant to the job and you provide justification for them. Instead of listing skills you think sound good, give them content and turn them into your strengths! For each skill, tell a story or provide a concrete example of a situation where you used it.
Let’s Look at a Few Examples!
Flexibility: A colleague suddenly fell ill, and you were called in to cover their shift, which you did without hesitation.
Team Player Attitude: You worked on a project with several colleagues and ensured you completed your part on time, thoroughly, and to the highest quality.
Good Problem-Solving Skills: If you have customer service experience, this is your time to shine! 😉 Share a story about how you dealt with a complaining customer patiently and effectively, earning praise from your superior.
Excellent Communication Skills: This is a broad term that can encompass many things, so it’s important to be specific. Did you give a presentation to a large audience? Participate in a successful negotiation with a colleague? Are you a master of written communication? Fill this soft skill with content that makes you the clear choice!
It’s Not That Complicated, Right?
Read more of our job search-related blog posts: you can find a resume guide and interview guide on our website!
