Soft Skills and Hard Skills

 

  When we talk about companies that need a new employee, we already know about job descriptions and quite often ask for a combination of hard and soft skills. Hiring candidates will make sure to put both skill sets on display. To put it simply, we've got to have both. So what is the difference between hard skill and soft skill and why it's quite important in the job description?

  The main differences between hard skills and soft skills are how they are gained and put to use in the workplace. Hard skills are teachable abilities or skill sets to specific training. Technically, we have learned hard skills in the classroom or through books. For example, a hard skill would be public speaking. No one is born with the instinct to type. It has to be learned over time through some type of schooling or education. 

  On the other hand, soft skills are general characteristics, definitely relevant to personality traits. It is also known as "people skills" and it is related to how to interact with other people. We may have spent our whole life developing soft skills. For example, effective communication is a key soft skill many employers seek. Nowadays, most in-demand soft skills are creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. 

  The importance of hard skills and soft skills is to measure the quality of ourselves. Hard skills provide the backbone of the services or the products it creates in the company. They would not hire a programmer without the hard skills to perform the coding. Hard skills training ensures that the employees are equipped to do good work in their field.

  On the other hand, soft skills are functional work and create a positive environment. The study found that 75% of long-term job success depends on the level of soft skills employees had. For example, some people may be seeking a job in marketing but lack prior knowledge of analysis tools. If they have references that they have soft skills, such as communication, empathy, and open-mindedness, they may choose that candidate instead of whose hard skills are stronger but lacks the same level of soft skills. 

  Honestly, the best way to train employees is not to split hard skills versus soft skills but to develop both in tandem. Since they are both important, emphasise both hard and soft skills during the job application process. For example, if the job involves working on a number of group projects, emphasise our experience and skill as team players and our ability to communicate with the team members. 

  So, the bottom line is soft skills are those skills that come naturally and uniquely to everyone including leadership, teamwork, effective communication, motivation, creativity, and adaptability. Hard skills are gained through experience, training, or education including typing, copywriting, or computer programming. When applying for a job, it's important to find out what is your skills and of course, read the detail in the job description. Thank you for your time and have a nice day 😀.

References:

1. Hard skills vs. Soft skills (2019). Available at: https://resources.workable.com/hr-terms/hard-skills-vs-soft-skills#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20difference%20between,really%20thrive%20in%20the%20workplace.
2. Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: What's the Difference? | Indeed.com (2022). Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/hard-skills-vs-soft-skills.
3. Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: What's the Difference? (2021). Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/hard-skills-vs-soft-skills-2063780.
4. Bleich, C. (2020) Hard Skills Vs. Soft Skills: Examples And Definitions, EdgePoint Learning. Available at: https://www.edgepointlearning.com/blog/hard-skills-vs-soft-skills/.