The soft skills you need to thrive at any stage of your career

Soft skills are abilities that relate to how you work and how you interact with other people. Popular soft skills include communication, teamwork and other interpersonal skills. Employers look for soft skills in candidates because these skills are hard to teach and are important for long-term success. Soft skills are different from hard skills, which are technical and job-specific.

Other names for soft skills: personal skills, interpersonal skills, non-technical skills, essential skills, transferable skills

Some of the key soft skills to have

• Problem-solving

• Effective communication skills

• Self-direction

• Drive

• Adaptability/Flexibility

Other sought-after soft skills include:

• Effective communication

• Teamwork

• Dependability

• Adaptability

• Conflict resolution

• Flexibility

• Leadership

• Problem-solving

• Research

• Creativity

• Work ethic

• Integrity

Broad types of soft skills, which you can read more about below, include:

• Communication

• Problem-solving

• Creativity

• Adaptability

• Work ethic

Why are soft skills important?

Soft skills play an important role in resume writing, interviewing, job performance and finding success in communicating with people at work and in other areas of your life. For example, as you look for jobs, you may find that many employers list specific soft skills on their job posts in the “required” or “desired” sections.

For example, a job posting for a human resources associate may list “attention to detail” as a desired trait, while a job for a marketing specialist could list “leadership” and “great communication skills” as required traits.