“I’ll know it when I see it,” is a phrase commonly heard by recruiters. Our clients are looking for candidates who possess the right skills, of course, but also something a little extra. Top candidates need to bring a more to the table and these intangibles are often referred to as “soft skills”. Soft skills are, in general, traits that can’t be learned or taught. They are simply an intrinsic part of someone’s personality. However, you can leverage your soft skills and improve them over time. Here are some of the most commonly sought after soft skills and examples for how you can present them on your resume.

1. Strong and effective communications. Your goal is to demonstrate that your communications skills can improve business. “Worked within the customer service department to effectively communicate information to clients over the phone. Able to work with unsatisfied customers to ensure that their needs were resolved satisfactorily. Continuously received positive feedback from customer surveys.”
2. Natural leadership. This is all about teamwork and initiative so let the prospective employer know about a time where you excelled. You don’t need to be a manager to have leadership skills. “Lead a team of 12 people for a project estimated to turn a significant profit. Able to manage the complimentary skills of the team members and exceeded management’s expectation for the project.”
3. Organization and prioritization. Multi-tasking is a myth that is commonly perpetuated by the corporate world. People who are good at multi-tasking actually excel at organizing and prioritizing. “Established a new filing system which saved the department over $50,000 in lost time. Able to create a better system of procedures that allowed each staff member to concentrate on profit generating work and kept paperwork to a minimum while still remaining compliant.”
4. Flexibility and adaptability. The workplace of today is changing rapidly. Technology itself is always evolving which can make some processes outdated before they’re even implemented. You want to share how you adapt when something changes. “Reputation in the office for keeping a cool head when stressful situations arise. Flexible when needs change and can adapt easily with very short notice. Helped train 20 employees on new software after working with it for only one week.”
5. Problem solving and critical thinking. Companies are looking for people who can help them improve their business. Demonstrate your problem solves skills by using as much data as possible. “Took over a struggling and mandatory disaster recovery program. Put together a team of the brightest minds in our company, created a plan, and put the technology in place. The test was estimated to take a full week to recover sensitive data, but the team was able to prove the effectiveness of the system in two days.”

Do you need more help with your professional resume? Contact VincentBenjamin today!