The Top Soft Skills You Need to Succeed

What are soft skills? How are they different from hard skills?

Hard skills are taught and practiced, while soft skills are personal attributes and personality traits that are developed throughout your career.

Hard skills may get you an interview, but soft skills are key to your long-term success and are often the key factors in promotion decisions. These skills vary from person to person, but there are a few universal soft skills every employee needs to practice:

1. Communication Skills
   Clear communication is vital in every position, and is more than just having a good grasp of language. Good communication includes listening and presentation skills, and expressing your thoughts well verbally and in writing.
   
   
2. Interpersonal Skills
   Interpersonal skills focus on interacting with people, including your attitude, managing conflict and providing feedback. You’ll interact with people with various experiences and mindsets, in different age groups, and at different levels of authority. Great interpersonal skills are about handling yourself during those situations.
   
   
3. Teamwork
   You need to be able to work well in a team setting and alone. Regardless of your role, every employee is part of a team working together to achieve success, and you must be a productive, contributing member.
   
   
4. Adaptability and Flexibility
   You may have a predictable workload, or you may balance a variety of tasks. No matter what your day looks like, your ability to adapt and remain flexible are important to your success. This includes your willingness to work extra hours, take on extra tasks, or help in an unfamiliar area.
   
   
5. Critical Thinking
   Critical thinking is using logic, skills and experiences to solve issues. You won’t find a business that doesn’t have problems to solve, and critical thinking enables you to successfully provide the unique solutions your company needs.
   
   
6. Time Management
   It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you must know how to manage your time. Time management looks different to every position and company, but doing so efficiently is a great soft skill to have.

Some soft skills may feel more natural to you than others, but remembering the top soft skills employers and managers consider when making employment and promotion decisions will help keep you on track for both personal development and professional success.