When you’re looking for a new job, analyzing your suitability for your target role is part of the process. Many job seekers focus on specific areas, including their education, formal training, certifications, technical skills, and work experience. However, there’s another aspect that’s critical for your success: your soft skills.
Soft skills are a bit hard to define. They usually describe certain traits or characteristics you exhibit on the job, your interpersonal attributes, and personality. As a result, soft skills are a bit ambiguous. There isn’t always a tried-and-true definition, as soft skills are more conceptual than rigid.
But, if you want to land the best jobs, you need to bring soft skills to the table. If you want to know which ones you should highlight, here are the top six.
- Written Communication
Your ability to express yourself clearly in writing is critical. If you can’t create an intelligible email or report, you aren’t going to thrive in any position.
When you create a resume, make it is of the highest quality. It primarily serves as an example of your abilities, so spelling, grammar, or word choice errors won’t work in your favor. Additionally, discuss examples of when you created reports or other forms of documentation, further showcasing your skills.
- Self-Motivation
Employers highly covet the ability to work independently and stay focused. Including examples on your resume that show you going above and beyond the call of duty can help you demonstrate this skill. Similarly, describing instances where you had to set your own goals and achieved them can also work well.
- Results-Oriented
Being results-oriented means that you prioritize the quality of the outcome above all else. This skill is also associated with other desirable traits, such as attention-to-detail and accuracy. Highlighting your results-oriented nature on a resume or during an interview usually involves examples where you took additional actions to ensure quality, such as adjusting your course or taking extra time.
- Teamwork
The vast majority of professionals work as part of a group. The ability to collaborate with others will, often, be critical for your success in any role, so hiring managers make this soft skill a priority. If you want to stand out from other applicants, discuss accomplishments that required coordinating with others to reach a shared goal.
- Analytical
Associated with critical capabilities like problem-solving and data-driven decision-making, analytical skills are vital in many fields. They allow you to review information, draw reasonable conclusions, and troubleshoot issues as they occur. To highlight your analytical skills, describe achievements where you had to use data to resolve a problem or improve a process.
- Organization
Hiring managers favor candidates who can coordinate, catalog, and track. Whether it’s data, workflows, or paperwork, organization is a crucial soft skill in their eyes. On your resume, include an example that allows you to showcase how you coordinated a project, managed a schedule, or kept a series of deliverables on time and on target.
Advance Your Career Today!
Ultimately, by following the tips above, you can make sure that you demonstrate your soft skills. Alpha Consulting works with the Nation’s top clinical and pharmaceutical employers. Contact us today or browse our available job openings to apply.
