Transcription
There is a saying that hard skills will get you an interview, but it is the soft skills that will get you the job. Let me explain what I'm talking about.
Imagine two candidates interviewing for the same role at a high-profile company. Both of them have a strong pedigree, the same qualifications, the same technical skills, the same work experience. All the tangible abilities are the same. So, how will you choose the better candidate? Common sense says you will look at the intangibles. In other words, the soft skills.
The term soft skills essentially refers to abilities that extend beyond the technical. These skills are more nuanced like behaviors that make someone a good team member or a strong leader. Stuff like effective communication, critical thinking, empathy, teamwork, even active listening. There is no definitive list. But soft skills are everything that help people do their job or live their life in an effective way.
For instance, think of an economist. They may be very good at statistics and analysis, but if they're unable to convey the meaning of that data, it may not help the people it affects. Or think of a manager. They can have an MBA. They can have the technical knowhow. But to understand their team's needs, they need critical thinking. They need empathy. So no matter your job, you need both hard skills and the lesser touted lowprofile soft skills.
And research proves this. Here's what studies say. 85% of job success comes from soft skills. People with good soft skills are more likely to earn higher wages and learn specialized skills quicker. So soft skills determine how far up you can climb the career ladder. And most of all, they make workers more resilient, more adaptable. And this is crucial especially today where te technology is moving rapidly. AI is reshaping the workforce. Specialized hard skills are rising and falling at a surprising speed. The job market is tough. At a time like this, soft skills matter more than ever.
That said, the importance given to them is not really new. Companies have always rewarded soft skills whether they acknowledge it or not. Before you get the job, you go through personality tests. So you're asked the you're asked questions like are you a team player and once you're in soft skills are one of the criteria for promotions apart from improving your job prospects they also help you in other ways in your relationships your hobbies even your health. In fact, people with high emotional intelligence are less likely to experience stress and anxiety which is why people are often pushed to cultivate these skills early on in their childhood. Students are not just graded on tests but also on c classroom interaction on team work during projects. In fact, over the past few years, many governments have introduced programs focused on emotional and social skills. From India to Singapore, from Finland to the UK, soft skills are increasingly becoming a part of school curriculums.
For some people, soft skills are innate. For others, developing them can be challenging because unlike gaining factual knowledge, horning people skills can be a lot of work. But it's not impossible. Experts suggest you start with empathy. Try to put yourself in other people's shoes. Secondly, focus on effective communication. It relies on your body language, your words, and your tone. That's the three V's. Visual, vocal, verbal. Thirdly, don't be afraid to study others or to ask for help because like all skills, soft skills can be learned and horned over time. And it is crucial that they are because being clever is not enough. You need those intangible skills to set you apart and to shape your career and indeed your life.