What Does Soft Skills Mean?
Soft skills, also known as people skills, are personal qualities that complement the technical requirements necessary to acquire and maintain employment.
Soft skills determine an employee’s ability to work well with others and self-manage their work time alone. Unlike hard skills, which are deliberately acquired to support a specific task, job or career, soft skills are personality-driven and can be easily transferred from one career path to another.
Although soft skills tend to develop naturally with experience, they can also be gained by seeking out feedback and learning from constructive criticism. Important soft skills include:
- Clear written and verbal communication
- Time management
- Flexibility
- Workplace etiquette
- Conflict management
- Responsibility and accountability
Techopedia Explains Soft Skills
In human resource management (HRM), a candidate's soft skills can be just as important as a candidate's hard skills, because soft skills often determine whether or not a new hire will be a good cultural fit.
During the interview process, soft skills are typically assessed subjectively by asking the applicant open-ended questions that require self-reflection. The goal of this type of questioning is to understand the candidate’s ability to think critically and creatively, share knowledge appropriately and give opinions respectfully.
One of the most important soft skills employers look for during an interview is the applicant’s verbal, aural, non-verbal and written communication skills. This includes :
- The applicant’s ability to listen before speaking.
- The applicant’s choice of words and tone of voice.
- The applicant’s professionalism as reflected by their personal appearance and body language.
- Written communication skills as observed in the applicant’s resume and cover letter.
