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9 Soft Skills Employers Look for in a Candidate

Staffing Agency | The TemPositions Group of Companies | Temp Agency | Human resource team analyzing candidate's resume during job interview at corporate office.

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While your resume and relevant experience will get you to the interview, it won’t necessarily land you the job. Employers place a high value on the soft skills you hold, too. In this article, we’ve outlined the top 9 soft skills that you should communicate in your next interview. By combining these with your hard skills and relevant experience, you’ll have a leg up on similar candidates!

Top 9 Soft Skills:

  • Communication

  • Dependability

  • Teamwork 

  • Creativity 

  • Eagerness to Learn 

  • Conflict Resolution

  • Motivation

  • Adaptability

  • Time Management

1. Communication

Communication is important to the employer interviewing you, as they want to make sure you can effectively communicate ideas. But this isn’t just about your verbal skills; it includes your written and listening skills as well. Highlighting your ability to use your communication skills effectively to reach an end goal will show the employer that you are capable of handling the job. This ensures everyone in the company is on the same page, projects are being executed, there are less errors, internal relationships are being built, and productivity is at an all time high.

2. Dependability

A critical part of being a good member of an organization is being dependable. It’s crucial to show employers that you will be able to produce consistent work, follow through with commitments, and hold yourself accountable for everything you need to do.

This is a great opportunity to describe to the interviewer a time where you had an important project that had a certain deadline. Detail how you met the deadline while producing quality work.

3. Teamwork

Collaborating ideas within a team arguably brings the best results out of a project. Each individual has the opportunity to give their perspective on a project and contribute their unique skill set which eventually creates innovative ideas. Employers want to know if you can collaborate, as this leads to results. What’s more, it allows you to build relationships in the workplace and accomplish something great as a team. To that end, watch the video below where Zuleika Cuevas explains the importance of smiling in your interview.

Play Video

4. Creativity

Individuals that possess creativity lead companies to many new and different approaches that they may have not thought of before. Showing an employer your ability to think outside the box and brainstorm demonstrates to the employer you are passionate about the position to the point you’re okay with stepping outside of your comfort zone to find a solution.

In an interview setting, this is a great opportunity to showcase a time where you had to think outside the box and get creative on a project to reach your end goal.

5. Eagerness to Learn

Demonstrating your willingness to learn is important to employers. They want to see that you are dedicated to the job and willing to take on new challenges in order to perform it best as possible. This is a great quality to display especially if your experience with the role you are interviewing for is lacking.

Thus, give the employer examples of steps you are taking to gain new experience. This could be gaining certificates for certain skills online or researching more about the role.

6. Conflict Resolution

Work environments can become high stress zones, especially when multiple individuals with different backgrounds, personalities, and ideas are working on a project and trying to meet a deadline. Conflicts are inevitable, but how you approach them is what really matters. Having conflict resolution skills tells the employer that you won’t let conflict build over disagreements and will handle it properly.

Describe how you work in a collaborative environment and give examples of how you handle conflict in a high pressure situation. When you can diffuse conflict quickly it shows that you are able to communicate effectively and go back to being productive.

7. Motivation

Employers want to know that you want this position because you are interested and enthusiastic about the role. Looking beyond doing just what is expected of you and achieving more in your past positions shows you are a highly motivated individual. The best candidate challenges themselves and looks for ways to strengthen their skills.

Tell a potential employer about the goals you have set for yourself and how you plan to achieve them in the position you want shows them that you are self-motivated and they can count on you. In the video below, Malla Haridat explains the importance of doing your research before an interview.

Play Video

8. Adaptability

Adapting to a new position and workplace environment is important for both you and your employer alike. Every new job you start comes with a new company structure, values, colleagues, and environment. That being said, tarting a new position with an open mind and embracing new changes will make your transition easier. Employers want to make sure that you can adapt to changes easily and be able to transition as quickly as possible to ensure you can respond to unexpected changes with ease.

9. Time Management

Lastly, and this might be a no-brainer, is an emphasis on time management. Soft skills like this are underrated, but let’s face it: if you’re unable to meet a deadline, your employer can no longer rely on you. Time management is especially important in a remote work setting.

Therefore, give your interviewer an example of how you prioritize balance in your life. Showing that you’re able to work hard while taking care of your own needs is a green flag to employers.

Which soft skills should you share?

Odds are, you won’t be able to share all of your soft skills in a single interview. Luckily, all of these qualities relate to each other in one way or another, which makes it easier to nod to multiple soft skills at a time.

Each quality showcased together not only makes you an attractive candidate to the employer, but also increases your skill strength and will help you excel in any position. If you are looking to start a new job and put these skills into action TemPositions is always hiring! We have an abundance of job openings that are just a click away. 

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