How to become more job-ready with soft skills

Take a moment to ponder this: “How job-ready are you?”

Poorva Bhardwaj, Principal Customer Success Manager at LinkedIn, explained in a recent University of Newcastle webinar that there is a divide between how ‘job-ready’ organisations view candidates as being, and how job-ready those candidates view themselves as being.

Job seekers will commonly focus much of their attention for their resume and cover letter or explaining how their technical skills (a.k.a hard skills) compliment the role. However, according to Poorva, it’s the soft skills that make all the difference to whether someone will be successful in that role.

Hard skills vs soft skills

What are hard skills? Well, the hard skills of a Marketing Coordinator might include things like UX design, SEO and SEM skills, social media skills, or marketing analytics. But what is lacking and what the employers are increasingly looking more for are people who have the right soft skills for the job.

Soft skills are the things that help you fit in at the workplace, work well with colleagues, connect well with associates. They include things like attitude, communication, listening, motivation and manners. Both hard skills and soft skills are needed in any workplace and you’re not going to get very far in a role without either one.

Soft skills are crucial for job-readiness

In the example above, the Marketing Coordinator would probably feature their hard skills front and centre on their resume.

But if all an employer sees are their hard skills, they may be left asking:

  • But, do they have the right personality and temperament to fit in with the team?
  • Do they have the communication skills to run a marketing event?
  • Do they have the persuasive skills to sell their ideas?
  • Do they have the networking and negotiation skills to forge partnerships?

Poorva explained that soft skills are “a really big focus right now”. Some of the current trending soft skills from LinkedIn’s research were:

  • resiliency (which is probably no surprise given the pandemic we’ve all been living through)
  • digital fluency
  • emotional intelligence, and
  • humour

The Balance Careers also has a great list of soft skills on their website. So next time you’re preparing a resume or cover letter, take the time to peruse this list and think about which soft skills you possess, and which you would need to meet the requirements of your dream position.

Is it time to upskill?

If you end up realising that there are gaps in your skill inventory, you could look into short courses or postgraduate study that provides those skills.

Upskilling benefits organisations and boosts people’s morale. We know from research that when people within an organisation have access to training and development opportunities, they are happier within their role and have a brighter outlook on their place within the company. Upskilling in the use of soft skills via short courses and postgraduate study can have the added benefit of improving communication, motivation, and team cohesion.

The world of work is changing now more than ever. What can you do today to keep up with it?

If you’re thinking about postgraduate study to help your career, now is the time to start. Start your search at newcastle.edu.au/postgrad.

Find out more about postgraduate study