What is a soft skill on a resume?

A soft skill on a resume is an ability or character trait that you list to show employers how well you work and interact with other people. Soft skills are learned naturally through the course of your life, and unlike technical skills, can’t be taught in a classroom. Employers consider candidates with strong soft skills particularly valuable because they’re likely to be great team players and contribute to the company in the long-term.

What’s the difference between hard skills and soft skills?

In contrast to soft skills, hard skills are more clearly-defined abilities like computer skills or language skills that are often taught in a formal setting. Not sure if you understand the difference between hard and soft skills ? Hard skills are often considered technical skills, while soft skills are closely related to people skills.

What is another term for soft skills?

Other commonly used terms for soft skills include interpersonal skills, EQ (emotional intelligence quotient), and people skills. These terms place a more heavy focus on skills that specifically involve interacting with others, while “soft skills” also include personality traits and qualities that are more concerned with how you conduct yourself (like work ethic or time management skills).

How can someone develop or strengthen their soft skills?

You can develop your soft skills by Identifying which skills you'd like to improve Setting specific goals for strengthening your skills Setting new goals once you've achieved your old ones Continuing to practice For example, if you want to improve your presentation skills, you could set a goal to make one presentation a month until you feel comfortable presenting. If you're overcoming a fear like stage fright, you can start with a small audience (or maybe family and friends) and try to work your way up to a larger audience, or a presentation in front of your bosses. If you want to improve a goal like patience, first try to identify situations in which you'd like to practice greater patience and come up with one or two strategies for encouraging yourself to be patient. If you have a clear idea of the circumstances you want to be more patient in, you'll be more likely to notice and remember when they arise, and you'll be able to use your strategies.

What are soft skills in the workplace?<

Soft skills in the workplace are the personality traits and interpersonal skills that you use in a professional setting, and that can impact your performance and interactions with colleagues. Here are some important workplace soft skills: Professionalism Mutual respect Communication Cooperation Problem solving Time management Interpersonal skills

Why do managers care about soft skills when hiring for a technical job?

Managers care about soft skills when hiring for a technical job because soft skills have a large impact on how employees conduct their work. A candidate may be proficient in all the technical skills they need for a role, but if they aren't able to collaborate on a team then they won't perform well in a team-based role. Employers know that well-rounded candidates with a good mix of hard and soft skills will make better employees overall than candidates with just hard skills.

What are the best soft skills by industry?

Knowing what the top in-demand soft skills are for your industry can help you frame your work experience in a way that impresses employers and helps you land interviews. Here are the best soft skills to highlight for work in any of the following industries: Depending what industry you work in, how many soft skills and which ones you include on your resume might differ. For example, when you're applying for work in more technical roles, it's important to make sure your hard skills get the primary focus.

Soft Skills: Definition, Examples, & How to Put on a Resume

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What are soft skills?

Soft skills are the social and thinking skills that help you apply your qualifications in the workplace. Unlike hard skills, soft skills aren’t specific to a field or industry. They are personal traits that shape how you work rather than what tasks you can do.

Here are some examples of soft skills you’ve probably seen in your job search:

Communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Time management

Highlighting soft skills on your resume helps employers understand what kind of worker you are and whether you’d be a good fit for the job. For example, problem solving skills, communication, and the ability to work well under pressure are great traits for working in retail.

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Our Expert:

Sebastian Morgan

How to put soft skills on your resume

Because soft skills are personal traits, they appear empty and vague without context. Anyone can describe themselves as a “creative problem solver” or “people person”.

The only way to meaningfully convey soft skills on a resume is to provide evidence in your resume introduction and work experience section.

Highlighting job-relevant achievements and responsibilities that use your soft skills is a great way to outline their value to an employer.

For example, this applicant connects their customer service skills to an increase in sales — and mentions positive feedback from a manager to lend credibility to their soft skills.

Retail Assistant
Nike, Baltimore, Jan 20XX – Dec 20XX
Helped customers with recommendations, purchases, and returns in a busy outlet store, exceeding sales targets by 25% on average
Led a community run club, receiving excellent feedback from participants and my manager for my positive energy and supportive attitude

Notice how these resume bullet points focus on work-related achievements while highlighting the role that being helpful, well-organized, and enthusiastic played in the applicant’s success.

The four types of soft skills

Soft skills generally fall into four groups:

Communication skills — How you share ideas and work with others
Analytical skills — How you approach problems and find solutions
Organizational skills — How you handle your work and responsibilities
Management skills — How you lead teams and coordinate projects with multiple contributors

Every job uses a combination of these skill groups, but depending on your target field and job title, your resume should emphasize some soft skills over others.

For example, a good teacher’s resume should highlight strong organizational skills and communication skills because lesson planning, classroom management, and conveying concepts are fundamental to teaching jobs.

Communication skills

Communication skills are external abilities that help you interact positively and productively with others. Employers often also refer to them as interpersonal skills or people skills.

Think of them as your ability to do things like:

Express ideas
Give instructions
Resolve conflicts
Coordinate goals and objectives
Build trust
Show empathy and support
Persuade and negotiate

Employers often directly ask for strong communication skills in a job description, though they may use other communication skill keywords depending on the role and industry. Some examples include:

Active listening
Confidence
Public speaking
Persuasion and negotiation
Storytelling
Conflict resolution
Teamwork & collaboration skills
Empathy and open-mindedness

Examples of communication skills on a resume

In your work experience section, achievements that highlight working well with others, helping members of the public, or success in messaging and creative work are all effective in highlighting communication skills.

Communication skills in a resume bullet point

Led weekly planning meetings to coordinate priorities between marketing, administrative, and IT teams, successfully delivering the rollout of a new product on time and within budget

You can also talk about your communication skills in your resume summary. This approach is practical in fields that involve a lot of people work, such as customer service or care.

Don’t worry about using specific adjectives to describe your communication skills. Focus on giving evidence that the employers can assess:

Communication skills in a resume summary

Friendly barista with over 3 years of experience in busy independent cafés in Williamsburg. Known for my cheery nature, I always find the time to greet customers with a smile, even during lunch rushes — you can find several recent testimonials on Google reviews of the Kirkdale Cafe. Experience training new staff, coordinating deliveries of stock, and ensuring all-around smooth operations. Excited to bring my skills to your team.

Analytical skills

Your analytical skills are the mental tools you use to break down complicated information and find solutions to problems.

Analytical skills are necessary for the following tasks:

Carrying out research
Recognizing patterns
Interpreting data
Thinking critically
Finding solutions to problems

Various skills can be considered analytical skills, including the following:

Critical thinking
Research skills
Strategic thinking
Data interpretation
Troubleshooting
Risk assessment
Evaluation and judgement
Information synthesis

Examples of analytical skills on a resume

Writing relevant bullet points in your work experience section is an easy way to demonstrate analytical skills on your resume.

Independent work, especially tasks that involve raw data and research, are great for demonstrating a strong analytical skill set.

Analytical skills in a resume bullet point

Streamlined project management by investigating workflow bottlenecks and implementing a new system to track tasks across all teams, improving average turnaround times by 25%.

You should highlight analytical skills in your resume summary if research or complex problem solving tasks are central to your target job.

This example from a business analyst resume shows the impact of the applicant’s critical thinking skills:

Analytical skills in a resume summary

Technical Business Analyst with 7+ years of experience supporting e-commerce retailers through developing IT solutions. Possess a Degree in Business Administration and a Certification of Competency in Business Analysis. Track record of saving retailers over $500k annually thanks to innovative solution strategies & sound Gap analysis techniques. I excel at intercultural sales and communication strategies and am eager to bring these traits to your growing team.

Organizational skills

Being able to manage your time and priorities effectively is a valuable soft skill in any field, but especially in areas of work that involve logistics, administration, or tight deadlines.

You’ll often see these keywords in a job description when organizational skills are a key requirement:

Attention to detail
Time management
Multitasking
Working well under pressure
Scheduling
Adaptability
Prioritization
Acting independently
Anticipating problems

Many jobs ask for strong organizational skills, though employers may also use the following keywords to be more specific:

Time management
Prioritization & delegation
Planning and scheduling
Ability to work well under pressure
Working with tight deadlines
Adaptability
Self-motivation
Leadership

Examples of organizational skills on a resume

One of the best ways to highlight organizational skills on your resume is by including achievements that emphasize reliability and accountability.

Organizational skills in a resume bullet point

Coordinated travel arrangements for supervisors and managers, maintaining an excellent track record of balancing budget restrictions with individual needs and preferences

Strong applicants for leadership or office support positions often demonstrate organizational skills in their resume summary.

This account manager resume does a great job by highlighting their ability to efficiently work with cross-functional teams:

Organizational skills in a resume summary

Accomplished account manager with 5+ years of business development experience in the tech industry. Excel at territory planning and prioritization. One of my proudest recent accomplishments is leading a team of educators, product specialists, and consultants to successfully roll out a digital curriculum across multiple school districts, contributing to a 22% year-over-year increase in regional sales revenue.

Management & leadership skills

Management and leadership soft skills enable you to guide and motivate others effectively, ensuring that projects are well-coordinated and targets are met.

Strong leaders typically possess highly developed social skills, strategic vision, and the pragmatism to implement initiatives effectively.

You’ll often see the following keywords on a job description if the employer is looking for a strong leader:

Project management
Delegation
Recruitment
Budgeting
Strategy development
Conflict resolution
Presentation skills
Mentorship
Adaptability
Innovation

Examples of management and leadership skills on a resume

Demonstrating experience as a project or people leader is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate your management skills to an employer:

Management and leadership skills in a resume bullet point

Directed strategy consulting team on market entry analysis, oversaw board-level presentations, streamlined financial modeling processes, accelerating delivery timelines 20%

If you have a consistent track record of managing people or resources, you can also highlight your skills in your resume summary:

Management and leadership skills in a resume summary

Marketing Manager with agency experience at Ogilvy, directing 10-person creative teams on global Unilever campaigns and mentoring talent across departments. Delivered award-winning Nike social strategy and HSBC cross-channel launches, driving measurable brand growth, client retention, and double-digit engagement ROI.

Showcase your soft skills

Highlighting the right soft skills on your resume makes your application three-dimensional and helps the employer see how you would handle your responsibilities. It also makes your resume tailored, sincere, and memorable.

To get these traits across, you should talk about your soft skills using clear, confident statements that show their role in helping you succeed in previous roles.

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