You may well see soft skills appearing more and more often in job advertisements. Soft skills are becoming increasingly important to employers, and we at WFS PRO are seeing this more and more often with our clients. Not only do we see this with clients; it is a global change in the needs of employers. In this article we take you through what soft skills are, where the trend comes from and how you can respond to it.
What exactly are soft skills?
Soft skills are non-technical skills, primarily focused on a person's behavior and attributes. Soft skills are the emotional, social and personal skills a person possesses. We have listed the most common, or most in-demand, soft skills below:
- Strong communication
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Adaptability
- Troubleshooting
Where did this trend come from?
Such a trend, or change in needs, does not come out of nowhere. In the demand for soft skills, COVID-19 played a big role. During the Corona pandemic, many people had to work from home, which has made working from home, even now after Corona, increasingly normal. Many employees like the flexibility of remote working, and at some companies it is actually encouraged to work remotely or there is no permanent office. However, working remotely does not mean working on your own; especially when working remotely, soft skills are important, especially communication skills, because you are always communicating via email, (video) calls or phone.
Also, developments such as automation, digitization and robotization have been boosted by Corona. Despite these developments, the human aspect remains important; in addition, soft skills cannot be replaced by a computer system.
What does this mean to you?
First, of course, mentioning your soft skills on your resume. Put your soft skills with the rest of your (hard) skills, because they should not be forgotten. Only mention relevant soft skills; often the desired soft skills are already mentioned in the vacancy in the job or candidate profile. Adjust your skills on your resume accordingly, but always be honest and only mention the skills you actually possess. It is also important that your soft skills are reflected in your work experience. So only describe (soft) skills that can be related to your described work experience.
There are also plenty of opportunities to work on your soft skills and develop yourself further, both professionally and personally. From WFS PRO, employees can get access to the online training platform GoodHabitz, a platform packed with training courses that will help you (further) develop your soft skills.