How Are Your Soft Skills?
When a hiring manager is looking to hire you, of course they are going to look to see if you have the technical skills for the position, but just as important might be how developed your soft skills are.
So, what are soft skills and why do you need them?
“These are personal skills,” said Alan Hubbard, LandAjob chief operating officer. “A hiring manager is going to look at how you communicate, do you display professionalism, what kind of teammate you will be, are you a problem solver, do you have a positive attitude? If you don’t have these skills, you aren’t going to stand out in an interview. These are things a hiring manager is looking at to separate the candidates.”
When you are applying for a job, you want to make sure you highlight your personal skills as they apply to what companies are looking for. For example, if you are applying for a customer service position, you want to highlight how well you interact with people in a positive manner. You also want to mention how you dealt with the difficult client or customer and were able to resolve it successfully. That could help get an edge in getting the job with the hiring manager.
Attitude makes a difference in whether a company will hire you or won’t. Think about it, do you want to work with someone who has a negative attitude?
“Hiring managers want to know if you are going to be a positive influence at the company,” said Hubbard. “They are going to stay away from people who are negative, no matter how skilled they are at the job. No matter what the job is, you are going to inter with other people and businesses want employees who are a pleasure to deal with and those who can deal with people in stressful situations.”
If you don’t think you have the skills or are worried about how you are going to project yourself in the interview, this is a time to practice being a positive with your speech and mannerisms. You also want to make sure you think about times where you displayed a positive attitude to resolve an issue or to handle a situation.
LandAjob helps Americans with disabilities find jobs with a free database of more than 600,000 jobs in the United States and can also help you receive up to $13,000 in job expenses and reimbursements.
“You can get help with this from family and friends who know you best and help identify your best skills,” said Hubbard “This can be a good practice in self-assessments to recognize your strengths and weaknesses.”
When you are in an interview make sure you are stressing your soft skills to the hiring manager, because it could be something that are looking forward to in make their finish. Be sure to remember, having a positive attitude will send a positive message to the hiring manager and increase your chances of getting a job.