Five Soft Skills You Should Have on Your Resume
The key to securing your dream job isn’t all about name-dropping, where you went to school, your major or even your GPS. What makes you valuable are the skills that you, as an individual, can bring to the table.
Many people can detail or discuss their hard skills, the tangible, job-specific abilities, such as computer programming or social media marketing, but often fail to emphasize sought-after soft skills. If you are in the job market, here are 5 soft skills you should have on your resume:
1. Complex Problem Solving
An affinity for complex problem solving is an asset in the workplace. Approaches can be methodical and logical or unconventional and creative, depending on the situation. It includes the ability to observe, theorize, collect and organize data, interpret information, detect patterns, conceptualize and apply solutions.
2. Critical Thinking
Applying logic, reason and ethics is what separates humans from machines. Showing how you can critically evaluate information, guard against abuses and optimize plans for the best outcome will benefit the company and the people working in it.
3. Creativity
Creativity isn’t just for “artsy” jobs. Creative individuals are innovative individuals, who can work to develop unique approaches to problem-solving, competently foster persuasive campaigns and provide helpful commentary on a project’s effectiveness. Businesses look for novel approaches and ways to stand out from the crowd.
4. Judgment and Decision Making
As computing power increases and businesses on all levels have more access to data, being able to distil business information and make intelligent decisions is a growing need. In addition, collaborating and obtaining buy-in from teams or colleagues increases the chance of project success. Ability to communicate and defend rationale for decisions will show competence.
5. Negotiation Skills
The ability to negotiate is not limited to sales positions. Those in government relations, nonprofits, human services and many other industries need to know how to expertly help people come to an agreement. It takes preparation, understanding of the issues and desired outcomes, and being an effective communicator and listener to negotiate and implement a win-win proposition.
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