The difference between hard and soft skills for a job
As the career fair has recently occurred, there may be many of you interested in gaining full-time employment once graduation or seeking an internship for the summer. It is essential to be able to differentiate the understanding between hard and soft skills. As you may have built your network through events such as the career fair or continue network for further opportunities, it is important to demonstrate that you are an individual with both hard and soft skills. Employers may bring up certain questions pertaining to hard and soft skills as recruiters are looking for candidates that have a combination of these skills. This week's blog post focuses on key differences and topics that are revealed under hard and soft skills.
Hard Skills
Hard Skills are seen as the technical knowledge that is gained through education and the expertise needed to fulfill a specific role in a company. The technical knowledge that is gained may be different according to what field of study an individual may pursue. An example of some technical skills learned may be accounting and finance. Many students in the College of Business have goals of being well diverse with multiple technical knowledge to be a strong candidate with multiple options to enter a wide array of industries. Hard skills such as being well versatile with excel for example will help individuals immensely as this skill is useful and required in many roles, from market and communication specialists to finance and accounting roles. Regardless of the industry you may be interested in entering, hard skills are seen as the functional skills that allow you to effectively complete daily tasks that are specific to a certain role. If you are a student studying to become a graphic designer, the technical skills acquired to be able to complete specific tasks could be the knowledge and experience gained from using the Adobe software suite.
Here are some additional hard skills that may be helpful in categorizing these skills:
- Programming (C++, java, HTML, etc.)
- Data Analytics
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) marketing
- Speaking more than one language (Bilingual or multilingual)
- Computer skills such as typing speed
- Microsoft office skills
When going in for a job interview, it is valuable to be able to communicate effectively what hard skills you have attained from your background in education or any prior work experience that you may have. A job recruiter may ask for certain job experience or certain skills pertaining to your resume, so being able to elaborate on your hard skills is valuable in a job interview. Please see a previous blog post that is titled, How to write a great resume, which will be helpful in formatting and effectively communicating your hard skills.
Soft Skills
Transitioning into soft skills, these skills are referred to as the personal characteristics and habits that contribute to a team. Personal characteristics such as being able to adapt to certain situations or environments is a soft skill that is effective in an educational and job setting. There are many soft skills that can show that you are a valuable individual and can set you apart from other job applicants when applying for a job. Honing in on some of the most impactful soft skills that will allow you to grow your career is your communication skills. Communicating effectively is essential to every profession that you may be interested in going into and is a skill that is highly valued by any employer. Teamwork is another impactful soft skill that shows you can work and contribute to a team setting. In the college of business, students may have taken courses in the professional development program which touches on essential soft skills to prepare students to be career ready. The professional development program is also designed to guide students through preparing for a successful career from starting out as a freshman to finding a job as a junior, senior, or graduate student. For any information about the professional development program, please contact John Ney, Assistant Dean, Director of Professional Development, Assistant Professor of Marketing neyjohn@isu.edu.
Here are some top soft skills that employers look for:
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Adaptability
- Critical Thinking
- Collaboration
- Integrity
- Work ethic
- Problem-solving
- Dependability
- Empathy
I find it helps to write down a list of important soft skills, as practice when being put into a scenario that will allow you to be aware of certain characteristics. If you have been put into a group in class for a certain assignment or project, this is a great opportunity to home in on important soft skills that are valuable in every company such as your communication skills and ability to work in a given team. This blog post highlights the key factors that differentiate hard and soft skills. Being able to bring both key elements of hard and soft skills together will help you excel in any career you wish to pursue.
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