Presenting soft skills in your resume

Soft skills have become an important criterion when considering job applicants. In contrast to professional qualifications, social skills are much harder to prove in your resume. But since possessing the right social skills can make or break a job application, you should learn how to effectively highlight them in your job application.

Soft skills play a crucial role in today's job market. Proven skills and abilities, work experience and work samples or references give recruiters comprehensive insight into whether you're the right person for the job. However, experienced employers know that it's not just important for their employees to do their work. It's also important "how" they do their work.

What soft skills are employers looking for?

"Soft skills" are a pretty broad set of skills valued by employers that can be divided into general skills and specific skills.

Note that not all soft skills are relevant to your resume. It's great to be a good listener, but being able to take the opinions of others into consideration is a basic skill that employers expect from any applicant. You may not want to emphasize this skill in your resume, as this may make you look like you're trying to take credit for what's considered a very basic ability in a workplace environment. The same goes for punctuality and similar attributes.

Thus, you should always consider which special soft skills are particularly important for your prospective employer. Use job listings as a reference point, as they usually list all the soft skills that'll be important for the job.

How to highlight your soft skills in your application

Once you've determined which soft skills you excel at, you can identify the ones that are relevant to the job which you're applying for. Once that's done, you can include them in your resume. Always make sure you can support your claims with proof, though.

Use specific examples to show your soft skills

It's always best to give specific examples that demonstrate your soft skills instead of using empty phrases like "I work well as part of a team". Recruiters recognize these phrases and know that anyone could claim the same thing in their application.

Many industries look for applicants with specific soft skills, such as the hospitality industry which values the ability to communicate well with customers. However, saying "I'm a communicative person" conveys very little about how well you actually communicate. In the worst case, these phrases may suggest that you are overly chatty, potentially irritating customers. Instead, provide specific examples that showcase your communication skills:

• Elaborate on your communication style with others, specifying if your tone is more authoritarian, cooperative, etc.
• Describe with whom you had to communicate at your past workplaces – with international or national customers, across hierarchies, etc.
• Describe how others perceive you – do they find communicating with you feels pleasant, dynamic, etc.

Some examples for describing soft skills in your job application

It goes without saying that you should always use your own words to describe your social skills in your cover letter. Nonetheless, we have some examples to inspire you:

• Example 1:

  "Sustainability is very important to me. That's why I've been volunteering for several years with an organization that addresses environmental issues. I find the work I do for the environment emotionally rewarding and very enjoyable."

• Example 2:

  "Being very empathetic is one of my greatest assets. As a result, I've quickly become the go-to person for my current work colleagues whenever problems or conflicts arise. My supervisors frequently request that I mediate disputes among various parties."

• Example 3:

  "Since childhood, I've been a passionate member of my local soccer club, which taught me the importance of teamwork early on. I've always admired how people from diverse backgrounds unite to achieve a common goal. One of my formative experiences has been dealing with negative events and successfully overcoming them together with the rest of my teammates."

• Example 4:

  "I consistently perform all of my tasks efficiently and accurately, which enables me to take on projects from other colleagues when they're sick, even on short notice. I routinely work beyond my normal hours when necessary to finish urgent assignments."

You can always cite non-work-related examples to highlight your social skills. For example, some of your hobbies may help recruiters understand your social competencies. This is particularly the case if some of your hobbies fit in well with the company culture. So, if you play on a sports team, and you're trying to find a job with a sporting goods company, definitely use this example to demonstrate your ability to work well as part of a team.

Social skills: Emphasize key attributes

It's best to keep details about your professional skills and work experience to your resume and focus on demonstrating your soft skills as part of the content of your cover letter. Keep in mind, though, that your cover letter shouldn't be longer than one page and it should avoid excessive text. Therefore, concentrate on mentioning your most important soft skills as well as those skills that may be relevant to the specific company where you're applying.

Keep the following points in mind:

• Don't limit yourself to demonstrating the soft skills that are explicitly required in the job listing. Show that you're a well-rounded person who might even possess useful skills beyond what's strictly required for the job.
• Don't overload your cover letter by listing every positive attribute and skill you possess. It's usually enough to focus on the three most relevant soft skills, including supporting examples. It's also useful to focus on soft skills that cannot be directly inferred from your resume.
• Don't go into too much detail. Many recruiters only skim the cover letter. Be concise and use memorable wording to capture their attention.