Aren't Soft Skills Required for Job Interview?...Read To Know More!

Soft skills?

Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or personality traits, attitudes, career attributes, social intelligence and emotional intelligence quotients, among others, that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills.The Collins English Dictionary defines the term "soft skills" as "desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude."

 

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Concept!

Soft skills are a cluster of productive personality traits that characterize one's relationships in a milieu. These skills can include social graces, communication abilities, language skills, personal habits, cognitive or emotional empathy, time management, teamwork and leadership traits. A definition based on review literature explains soft skills as an umbrella term for skills under three key functional elements: people skills, social skills, and personal career attributes. National Business Education Association deems soft skills as critical for being industrious in today’s workplace. Soft skills complement hard skills also known as technical skills, for productive workplace performance and everyday life competencies (Arkansas Department of Education, 2007). Hard skills were the only skills necessary for career employment and were generally quantifiable and measurable from an educational background, work experience or through interview.


In the 21st century, soft skills are a major differentiator, for employability and success in life. A study found that 80% of achievements in career are determined by soft skills and only 20% by hard skills. Experts say soft skills training should begin for a person when they are students, to perform efficiently in their academic environment as well as in their future workplace. A public interest study conducted by McDonald’s in UK predicted over half a million people will be held back from job sectors by 2020 due to lack of soft skills.

How to communicate your soft skills during an interview?

There are two different facets to the art of expressing soft skills during an interview. First, one must express soft skills through their actions and conversation. Some HR Managers, stresses the importance of pausing to think about questions instead of jumping in before you are truly ready. To avoid rambling, take a few seconds to think about the question and prepare your response.

The second part has to do with the stories one tells while answering behavioral questions. Providing stories that point to strong soft skills is extremely important to acing the interview.

Why is it important to use soft skills during an interview?

Your resume, which should outline your hard skills, already landed you the interview. In order to land the job, you’ll have to excel beyond your technical skills.

“The soft skills are really your own personal marketing device to convince someone that you are the person for the job,”.

it’s much easier to train an employee in a technical skill than in a skill like communication. These days, employers are more likely to choose the candidate that already brings soft skills to the table.

How do you practice behavioral questions?

The key to rocking an interview is preparation, so mock interviews are great ways to practice answering behavioral questions. The first step is to brainstorm situations in which you used soft skills in a professional setting. Next, use examples of anecdotal questions to think of which situations will be useful to discuss during interviews.

“You can tell the kind of people who have actually thought about who they are in the workplace,” stressing the importance of thoughtful preparation.

Next, you should actually practice telling these stories to someone. If you don’t have a professional to practice with, grab a friend or family member and provide them with a list of behavioral questions to ask you.

Here’s are some examples of behavioral questions to practice while preparing for an interview, provided our experience:

Q: Have you ever unintentionally offended or upset somebody? Can you describe the details?

Q: Can you tell me about the last time you had to act and there was no formal policy or procedure on how to do so?

Q: Can you tell me about a time that you let someone down? How did you handle it?

Q: What was your relationship with the best boss you ever had?

Q: What’s been the toughest criticism you received so far in your career? What did you do with it?

Q: Can you tell us about a time you took initiative on a project or a task at work?

Q: How do you approach a task that you’ve never done before?

we explain that while preparation is key, it’s also important that a candidate doesn’t sound too rehearsed while answering questions during interviews.

“Prepare just enough so you don’t feel like you’re getting put on the spot by every question,”. “But don’t stress yourself out because nervousness will shine through and it can keep your personality from shining through.”

How can you continue to use soft skills after an interview?

Sending a thank you email or handwritten thank you note is a common suggestion, but it’s especially important if a candidate wishes to express their soft skills to an employer. A well-written message to an employer showcases that a candidate has strong communication skills, is thoughtful and is willing to go the extra mile.

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