Every job application you write will require you to demonstrate both your hard skills and soft skills. When written and described correctly, the two will result in a strong cover letter or resume. A successful candidate will know how to present them accurately. To do so though, one needs to understand the difference between the two. The following are definitions and examples of hard skills vs. soft skills and instructions on how to correctly present them in your resume.
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Hard skills are quantifiable and mostly taught in school. You earn certifications for them or learn them through previous work experiences. They are specific to particular jobs and form the basis of most job requirements. The skills you list in your resume will inform the hiring manager that you will perform the job assigned. They are techniques, knowledge or actual professional abilities, for example, you will not land an architect job if you don’t know how to use drafting software. Some jobs will also require you to have a certain proficiency level to fit the role. Some careers will even put more emphasis on hard skills over the soft. For example, a company looking to hire a technical team will favor someone with computer and programming abilities rather than someone with interpersonal skills.
Soft skills are related to your people skills and personality. They are emotion based and subjective. Most of them are not taught but guided by your emotional intelligence and experience. There is no way to quantify them and some, like ethics, take time to demonstrate.
These are harder to demonstrate on your resume compared to hard skills. You must provide examples which illustrate your effectiveness in them, for instance from past experiences. They shape how you relate to others through working together and how you work as an individual. For example, you can’t quantify effective communication, but you can demonstrate it by highlighting an experience when you had to deal with a difficult customer.
Soft skills create a functional work environment. Therefore, employers will need you to provide examples demonstrating them. Some positions, like customer service, will place more value on soft skills because they entail having face to face interactions with people.
Hard skills are dependent on assessments- standard grades and testing. They demonstrate your ability to learn, understand information and apply it. Soft skills, on the other hand, need one to be emotionally intelligent. Having soft skills means one can assess, identify and control their own emotions, and those of others and groups.
Another difference between the two is their development. You learn hard skills through training or coursework. Soft skills are usually developed through experience while some are innate. Hard skills are dependent on a profession. For Instance, a teacher will require different hard skills compared to an engineer. However, soft skills are general and cut across various industries.
Hard skills are easy to prove and are considered absolute necessities. A recruiter may first scan your resume to find out if you have conclusively demonstrated them. Read the job description carefully and note those skills that the job description either mentions more than once or that they mention first. These are the ones recruiters are prioritizing and it’s imperative that you use the exact keywords the recruiter uses on the job description on your resume. Structure your resume around these skills.
Demonstrate soft skills through measurable results and accomplishments. Again, go through the job description and note which ones the recruiter has mentioned. Incorporate those you think would be relevant to the position too. Use practical examples to demonstrate how you used a specific soft skill to complete a task. For example, “In my previous job, I worked successfully with disgruntled clients.” This sentence shows you are an effective communicator. To maximize the impact both hard skills and soft skills have on your resume:
An applicant for a sales position may write:
I increased the sale of car parts by 50% in 3 months through initiating a French marketing campaign.
Hard skills– proficiency in French
Soft skills– motivated, entrepreneurial
As you can see, both hard skills and soft skills are crucial. Quantify both in your resume and cover letter to show the recruiter that you are right for the position. Use the job description to determine the language to use and pay attention to the employer’s choice of words so that you mirror them in your resume.
When demonstrating your skills on your resume, whether hard or soft, make sure they highlight your strengths. They should provide evidence of how, through applying them professionally, you improved either the company’s operations or profits. Include all your best attributes so that your profile impresses the recruiter. To stand out from other candidates, make sure to weave both the hard and soft skills into your work experience without looking like they are out of place. Tailor them to the job description using keywords the recruiter has emphasized.
Now that you know the difference between hard skills vs. soft skills, writing your next application letter and resume should be easy. Remember not to sell yourself short by just mentioning the skills. Demonstrate them using concrete examples that bring life to your unique profile.
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