Job hunters, don't overlook your "soft skills"
When you're interviewing for a job, it's critical to show you have the hard skills the employer is asking for. After all, who's going to hire an accountant who doesn't know accounting? But a new survey by CareerBuilder finds that hiring managers and human resources people are looking just as closely at your "soft skills."
1) A strong work ethic - 73 percent
2) Dependable - 73 percent
3) Positive attitude - 72 percent
4) Self-motivated - 66 percent
5) Team-oriented - 60 percent
6) Organized, can manage multiple priorities - 57 percent
7) Works well under pressure - 57 percent
8) An effective communicator - 56 percent
9) Flexible - 51 percent
10) Confident - 46 percent
It's easy in a résumé to list your hard skills, but writing about soft skills can be difficult. Management guru Alison Green, author of "How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager," gives some samples for soft skill descriptions on résumés:
--Built reputation for working successfully with previously unhappy clients (effective communicator)
--Became go-to staff member for relaying complicated medical information to patients of diverse backgrounds (team-oriented, flexible)
--Sought out by doctor and practice manager to write and edit client correspondence, exam notes and Web content (can manage multiple priorities)
