Why graduates need soft skills, and how to develop them
The graduate job market is a competitive place. Your application for any given role will be one of many, and employers need a way to differentiate you from others with similar qualifications and experience.
This is a guest post brought to you by Jen Morris, from Wikijob.
This is where soft skills come in – the skills that relate not to your technical know-how, but to your ability to thrive in a professional setting.
Important soft skills for new graduates
Soft skills differ from hard skills in that they are not job-specific. Instead of relating to how well you perform a certain task, they determine your effectiveness in the workplace, and as such are transferable from role to role.
As natural capabilities, they’re not so much taught as nurtured. While you’ll obtain hard skills through formal education and training, you’ll build on your soft skills through personal development.
As a graduate, it’s important to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and work to improve those skills that will set you apart in the eyes of employers.
Some of the most commonly sought-after soft skills at graduate level include:
- Interpersonal skills – Also referred to as ‘people skills’, this category covers things like communication, teamwork, respect and empathy. Your interpersonal skills are the behaviours that allow you to work well with others, form workplace relationships, and contribute to a productive environment.
- Problem-solving – No matter your chosen profession, prospective employers will be looking at your capacity for finding effective solutions to new challenges. Creative problem-solving is key to meeting the demands of any workplace and is a driver of innovation. Those with strengths in this area bring a competitive edge to a business.
- Self-motivation – Organisation, initiative and a desire to learn all fall under this broad soft skill. Self-motivation shows an employer that you’re open to new opportunities, capable of working without supervision, and keen to exceed expectations.
- Leadership – Graduate employers assess candidates on their future potential, including their ability to become effective leaders within the organisation. You might not consider leadership qualities essential at this point in your career, but they are beneficial at all levels and significantly boost your employability.
Why should you improve your soft skills?
To a graduate employer, what you’re capable of achieving in the future is just as important, if not more important, than what you’ve achieved in the past. You may have the highest level of expert knowledge, but unless you’re able to collaborate, grow and adapt, you’re of limited value to an organisation.
That’s why soft skills are a major focus of recruitment. They give an employer assurance that you’re a good long-term investment, will integrate well within the company, and will make a valuable contribution beyond technical ability. Given that you’ll likely be assessed on soft skills throughout your application – by techniques like competency-based interviews and psychometric testing – it’s in your best interest to start building on them as early as possible.
Tips for improving soft skills
Assess your current skill level
It’s often hard to be objective about your strengths and weaknesses, so try using one of the many personality and behavioural assessments available, like the CliftonStrengths test.
This will give you insight into key behaviours, as well as guidance on how to harness your greatest strengths for the benefit of your career.
Take part in extracurricular activities
As a student, there are multiple ways to involve yourself in activities outside of your studies, and all of them will prove beneficial to your personal development.
Sports teams, the Students’ Association, volunteering opportunities – they all help you improve on communication skills, teamwork and self-confidence, as well as organisational skills as you balance extracurricular and academic commitments.
Participate in class
The academic environment might not feel like a reflection of the workplace, but it has many similarities. Contributing to discussion, volunteering ideas, supporting your peers – these are all aspects that transfer to the professional world.
By participating at every opportunity, you’ll grow as an individual, and develop core skills you can carry through to future employment.
Take online courses
While strictly speaking you can’t ‘learn’ soft skills, you can master key techniques to help you apply them more effectively.
For example, a course on presentation skills will show you how to:
- communicate in a concise and engaging manner
- tailor your delivery according to the audience
- use body language to emphasise your ideas.
Gain professional experience
Part-time work is a good way to put soft skills into practice, and since they are transferable, it doesn’t have to be in the field you’ve chosen for your career. You’ll find that any job will require you to exercise skills like time management and teamwork.
Take this one step further by completing a career-specific internship that allows you to improve both technical and soft skills at the same time.
Organise your own event or activity
If there’s something you’re passionate about, organise an event or activity around it to create your own opportunity for self-development. For fundraising events, environmental projects and other activities, you’ll need to plan, communicate and think creatively. You’ll use leadership skills to encourage others to take part and to stay motivated to achieve your goals.
This kind of exercise not only helps you improve your soft skills but also gives a strong example of key strengths to share with an employer.
Final thoughts
It takes hard work and determination to land your dream job. While academic achievement is of course a contributing factor to your success, so too are the personal attributes you bring to the table.
By developing your soft skills, you’ll become the sort of well-rounded graduate candidate employers are looking for.