College is a wonderful place to learn industry-specific skills, but today’s employers want more than knowledge — they’re looking for evidence that you can “adult.” Dependability, self-sufficiency, and interpersonal skills are in demand, along with various other soft skills.
Although they might not sound essential, the reality is that the pendulum has swung firmly in the other direction. Today’s hiring managers recognize that it isn’t enough to know how to do the job if you’re not reliable or they spend more time de-escalating employee tension.
Soft skills, which include social, communicative, and emotional traits, turn an average potential hire into an in-demand must-have worker. Whether you’re an employer or job seeker, soft skills play a role in the job market, and this article explains why they’re important to you, too.
1. Soft Skills Are the New Problem Solvers
Never mind critical thinking to solve a problem. Before you get there, you need to be able to show up to work on time and consistently, interact with your coworkers, communicate, and listen to others’ ideas.
If you can’t do those things, and you’re not working alone (i.e., as the only person in the business), getting to the critical thinking stage will take longer. No matter how impressive your mind is, if you’re unreliable or always bickering with your coworkers, you cause disruption in the workflow. These distractions equal a loss in productivity, which equates to a decline in profit.
Is a smart mind worth the stress? Hiring managers today are saying no. They want hard-working, determined people with interpersonal skills and dependability who can be trained to have the smarts to do the job.
2. Communication is the Key to Success
Communication skills matter in every field. This skill includes more than speaking. A good communicator can listen effectively, recognize and read body language, and make inferences to judge a situation and respond proactively.
As a good communicator, you don’t always need to wait for direction before stepping in and responding. This skill is determined by hiring managers using nuanced interview questions. For example, they may ask how you’d respond if you received an email from a client who appears upset and wants you to handle a situation, and you don’t have the authority to do what the client is asking.
Some people might respond that it’s not in their job description and leave it at that, apologizing that they can’t help. But soft-skill focused employers are looking for responses such as a reply that you aren’t the correct person to talk to, but that you’ll escale their concerns to the proper department. From there, you would contact the person in charge and let them know they should expect to hear from the client rather than writing the task off as complete.
Communication and other soft skills are finessed out of the interviewee using strategic questioning. For more on this subject and how you can prepare for an interview, read this article by Obsidi®
3. Can’t We All Just Get Along? Your Answer Better Be “Yes”
The government mandates diversity, ethnicity, and inclusion policies, but finding people determined to overcome biases can be challenging. However, as more studies show the benefits to a business’s bottom line when teamwork is part of the daily structure, employers want to hire individuals who are willing to try to get along with everyone.
Gone are the days when stereotyping a person or making jokes about entire cultures was acceptable. Many employers are trying to actively create inclusive workspaces, whether because they’re naturally kind or because they’re concerned about lawsuits. Either way, employees must be willing to work with others, regardless of their differences.
This expectation doesn’t mean you have to get along with everyone. It’s understandable that some personalities clash. Yet, the differences of opinion should be handled professionally and without any disrespect due to either person’s demographics, background, or beliefs.
Conclusion
With the demand for soft skills in the workplace, is it really worth studying to get that 3.5 or 4.0 GPA? Of course!
Your knowledge makes you a standout candidate for any job position, but if you don’t have the soft skills to back up your smarts, you may find your dream job given to a slightly less intellectually skilled person who has EQ to go with their IQ. Take some time and learn your strengths and weaknesses, and build the soft skills that employers want before your next interview.
