What are Soft Skills?
In contrast toHard Skills"which define your technical skills, theSoft Skills"are your human skillspersonal and social skills, they refer directly to your emotional intelligence. They are both your "savoir-être" and your "savoir-vivre", they represent your way of communicating with others and are much more important in the work environment than one might think.
The importance of soft skills?
The Soft Skills can make the difference in a job interview. Indeed, your professional background and qualifications are important, but recruiters are increasingly interested in Soft skills However, recruiters are increasingly interested in soft skills, and if you have the same level of education as another candidate, they may favour soft skills. They are very important, because they will help define whether you are someone who is efficient in team playerThey are very important, because they will determine whether you are an effective team player, able to build good relationships with your teammates and clients. It doesn't stop there, because these skills also indicate whether you are a person who is more likely to evolve and adapt. This is what will determine whether or not it is worthwhile for a company to bet on your application rather than another. It is all your soft skills that are represented by your Soft skills and which can be decisive, whether for an interview or for your career within the company. You will more easily maintain a place and a good relationship with your company on the basis of these.
The list of key soft skills:
Communication skills :
You are therefore expected to be easily understandable, both orally and in writing, and to be able to explain your ideas effectively. This is especially important if you are going to be dealing directly with customers.
Adaptability :
This is an essential skill, always being ready to move on to something else if necessary, without sticking to what was written or said at the beginning in the specifications. You have to be ready to adapt your work to the various events that can slow it down, and therefore be ready to learn new things to do this. This is an important skill if you want to stay with a company for a long time, your job may change in the future, and if you don't keep up with the trend, the company's interest in you may decrease.
Humility :
Know remain humbleDon't let your ego get the better of you. You have to be aware of the work and the potential of everyone in the team. This will allow you to learn new things, but also to create a better atmosphere in the team, this skill is linked to the two above.
Sense of initiative :
As a force of proposal, you need to be able to take the lead when the situation arises, and not just hear directives. Do not hesitate to propose your ideasTry to bring forward a task that has been put aside if it turns out to be important in the end. Even if there is a risk that it will be refused or that there is no more interest than it seems, the proposal could bring up new perspectives and lead to reflection on alternative solutions. In any case the proposal will be beneficial.
Teamwork :
This is one of the most important things for an employer to know, whether you will be able to do your job with your colleagues. It goes beyond just being able to relate well to others, teamwork requires the ability to adapt your work to fit perfectly with the work of others. Good communication skills (fast and directed) and constant self-questioning are needed to achieve this. To develop your teamwork, you can try to practice Peer Learningwhich will launch you into a dynamic of sharing with your colleagues
Emotional intelligence :
It is both a cause and a consequence of your Soft Skills. The more your soft skills are developed, the more your emotional intelligence will be developed. It is the representation of your soft skills. People with high emotional intelligence are more likely to improve their Soft Skills over time. However, there is nothing to stop you from developing your emotional intelligencewith the implementation of a collective intelligence for example, which will put you in a framework where you will be obliged to develop your relational skills to move forward.
What if you don't have any of these soft skills?
If you don't have any of these, don't lie about them, you may have others that are harder to detect. Don't hesitate to ask those around you (family, friends, etc.) what they think of your Soft Skillsbecause they are the ones you use them with most often. It can be interesting to have less "classic" soft skills to create a bit of diversity in the company and have a real added value. Honesty is part of this list of soft skills. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging your lack of skills, in this case it is quite important to bounce back on another of your qualities that you can more easily put forward.
How to present your soft skills?
It may seem difficult to list directly its Soft Skills during a job interview or to list them on a CV (Good communicator, Adaptability...), that's why you have to give priority to examples. Rather than just mentioning good adaptability, tell an anecdote: "In the past I adapted to the evolution of my company by learning this management technique". Include your Soft Skills in examples allows you to be more credible and to reassure the person to whom you are presenting them. Even if these Soft Skills are not directly related to the world of work, they still need to remain in an adult setting. If you decide to put them in your CVexpect to be asked about them during a job interview. interview. Highlighting behavioural or technical skills in a CV is an important step if you decide to apply for a job. You can use recruitment-optimised CV templates to highlight your skills.
Develop your Soft Skills with ChallengeMe?
ChallengeMe based on Peer LearningWhen you participate in the different challenges on the platform you will be forced to work in teams, which is a good way to develop this skill. Your work will be presented anonymously to the other members of your team and you can work together to improve the different solutions. Challenges also provide an ideal framework for building collective intelligence. The soft skills is very important at ChallengeMe, which is why we try to establish a certain respect and appreciation of each person throughout the challenges.
In conclusion:
You need to be aware of your Soft Skills and value them. You need technical skills to qualify for a job, but how you develop and how you are perceived will depend largely on your people skills. You will always be able to acquire more and more technical skills, but it will be difficult to change the person you are and this is what will differentiate you from others. Take the time to identify these skills and learn to put them forward, you will have all the keys in hand to ensure good professional relations with your superiors and your clients.