It seems now, more than ever, competition for jobs is fierce, and people can feel overwhelmed by all the different job search advice. One secret weapon to increase your chances of success in the job market is to highlight your soft skills.

This is not the time to sell yourself short with overused phrases (e.g. “people-person” or “hard worker”). Knowing your soft skill strengths will help you discover your added value and bring to life what you can do. Typically, hiring managers relate to stories, not just words. How you differentiate your soft skills from other candidates can significantly improve your chances of getting hired.

Think about it this way: Hard skills will likely get you the interview, but you need soft skills to help you get and keep the job. Use these personal characteristics in all aspects of your job search—cover letters, resumes, and interviews.

How can you incorporate soft skills into your resume and cover letter?

• Take some time to dissect the job posting before you apply:
  • Identify and seek out what the employer is asking for. What is important to them?
  • Understand what key soft skills (e.g. effective communication skills, teamwork, dependability, adaptability) the employer is looking for. This will help you sell and customize your message to meet their needs in both the resume and cover letter.
  • Take this one step further and outline one or two stories that highlight your soft skills.
• Aim to show off your soft skills in a concrete way. Soft skills show you in action.
  • Example for a resume describing customer service: “Handled floor sales, assisted and advised customers in selecting purchases, and created a sales promotion, which increased ready-to-wear sales by 35 per cent.”
  • Example outlining leadership and volunteerism: “During high school, I took the initiative to organize two different fundraising efforts to raise money for our local school band and football team. In both efforts, raised funds exceeded target goals by 65 per cent.”
• Ensure each of your selling points describes a skill the hiring manager is seeking, then use an accomplishment statement to show—not just tell—how great a communicator or organizer you are. Use action verbs to show off your achievements.
  • Example of communications and customer relations skills: “Improved customer relations with proactive communication and approachability. Leveraged exceptional relationship management skills to deliver superior customer service by quickly assessing inquiries, diffusing issues, and resolving complaints, which resulted in improved response time and reduced rejected orders by 25 per cent.”
  • Example of organizational and problem solving skills: “Expert in tracking service-related issues. Developed and implemented reliable shipping and receiving processes and procedures to work cross-functionally, which resolved complaints about ordering, quality control, and returns. Improved turn-around times by more than 25 per cent.”

First-rate cover letters and resumes take extensive planning. Take the time to reflect on your skills, experience, and knowledge. This will give you the perspective to identify and articulate what you have to offer your next employer!

About the Author

Melissa Maschke is a Certified Career Development Practitioner and Certified Career Strategist. She has been working in the career development field for more than 20 years. She is currently the owner of Key Employment Services, working with clients to help with all things related to employment prep and career exploration. She also works with employers as a Human Resources consultant. You can find her at mvcareers.ca or on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/melissa-maschke.