• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

  • About
    • Expert Job Search and Social Media Consultant / Speaker
  • Services
    • For Job Seekers
    • For Entrepreneurs
    • Social Media Coaching and Consulting
    • Speaking/Keynotes
  • Resources
    • Sample Resumes
    • Blogroll
    • Quoted In
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Contact

How to use soft skills to get the job

April 24, 2013 By Miriam Salpeter

ISoft skillsf you are extremely qualified, have terrific application materials, a targeted resume and you’re interviewing for jobs, but always coming up with a silver medal, it’s possible that you’re bumping up against an elusive category: likability. Also known in the industry as “cultural fit,” likability is a reason many candidates don’t make the final cut—the interviewers either didn’t like them or didn’t believe they would mesh well with current employees.

One of the reasons that most employers don’t provide specific feedback to a second-place candidate is because it’s difficult to explain why someone doesn’t fit in. An employer can get in legal hot water for explaining that someone didn’t get hired because the team just didn’t like the candidate and couldn’t imagine spending a lot of time together.

Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as soft skills, is the category of skills most likely involved when evaluating likability or fit. Wikipedia defines them as “Personal attributes that enhance an individual’s interactions, job performance and career prospects. Unlike hard skills, which are about a person’s skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills relate to a person’s ability to interact effectively with co-workers and customers and are broadly applicable both in and outside the workplace.”

Soft skills include: attitude, communication skills, time management, critical thinking and a slew of other categories that do not relate to intelligence.

There’s no question that soft skills play a role in most, if not all, hiring decisions.

How can soft skills help you land a job?

So how can you demonstrate these skills during an interview? Eddie Earnest from HigherNext, a company that offers the Certified Business Laureate (CBL) certification tests and credentialing system, suggests the following tips to help highlight these five soft skills during an interview.

1. Work ethic. Make sure to weave your thoughts about how important the company’s mission and vision are to you and explain why you’re willing to go the extra mile to help the organization succeed.

2. Positive attitude. Give examples of how you improved employee morale in a past position, or how your positive attitude helped motivate your colleagues or those you managed.

3. Communication skills. Your interview is a great opportunity to demonstrate how well you communicate, so be sure you prepare and practice responses to showcase your best skills.

4. Time management. This is a crucial skill many employers seek in their hires. Earnest notes, “It’s especially important for candidates who want to work in a startup to know how to manage their time, tasks and responsibilities effectively.”

5. Self confidence. Earnest reminds job seekers, “You can demonstrate self confidence at the interview by the way you present yourself, including how you dress for the interview, the way you approach to shake hands and how you speak about your experiences during the interview.”

Read the whole post on U.S. News & World Report.

USNews.Logo.USN Logo_4bloggers

photo by coofdy

 

Related Posts:

  • Thanksgiving Networking Tips
  • How to tell your career story so people will listen
  • Job search horror stories: illegal interview questions
  • How to work with a clueless co-worker
  • Crazy interview questions

Filed Under: Career Advice Tagged With: career expert, how to get a job, keppie careers, Miriam Salpeter, soft skills

Follow Us!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Advice to Grow Your Business

Click here to read more about growing your business.

Follow Us!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Be an Insider: Sign Up to Receive Special Offers & Free Gift






About Keppie Careers

Are you a job seeker or business owner? You’ve come to the right place!
Click here to find out more.

Contact Us

Have a question or comment?
Click here to Contact Us.
© Copyright 2022 Keppie Careers