Has the term “soft skills” got you stumped? They’re a vital part of any professional’s skill set, so in this article we’re setting out to demystify them. We’ll look at a definition, compare them to hard skills, and identify the most in-demand soft skills. Critically, we’ll also discuss how and where to include them on your CV. Dive in with us!

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are those skills we use every day to interact with other people. They are the traits and interpersonal skills that help us to communicate with our friends, family, and colleagues. They aren’t specific to any particular role or industry, which is why they’re also known as transferable skills - they can be transferred easily into another job. For example, someone with good teamworking skills in the food sector will be able to use those teamworking skills in the retail sector. 

The Collins dictionary defines soft skills meaning as “interpersonal skills such as the ability to communicate well with other people and to work in a team.”

What are soft skills vs hard skills?

You may also have heard the term “hard skills.” They’re a completely different set of skills which can vary depending on the job you do. They’re not usually transferable between roles. As an example, computer programming is a hard skill which is not transferable to a job as a hairdresser. 

Hard skills can be taught and learnt, whereas soft skills are innate. That’s not to say they can’t be improved, though!

Why are soft skills important on your CV?

You may imagine that your CV should focus on hard skills, as they’re the ones that prove you can do the job you’re applying for. While hard skills are certainly important on a CV, hiring managers are also looking for someone who will fit well into their team - which is where soft skills come in. 

Soft skills are important whether you work on site, remotely, or in a hybrid role, as you’ll still need to communicate with colleagues, customers, suppliers, management, partners, or other third parties. 

When employers review your CV, they’ll be looking for the right mix of soft and hard skills. The weight they give to each will differ based on the role, the team, the company, and the industry. 

Soft skills are particularly relevant on career change CVs, as they focus on what you can bring to the company, rather than what you can’t. 

As you can see, it’s important not to dismiss soft skills when writing your CV. Striking the right balance could make the difference between being called for an interview… or not. 

Top soft skills examples for your CV 

As we’ve said, the soft skills that recruiters and hiring managers need are variable. This soft skills list contains some of the most in-demand, universal, and important soft skills that you may want to consider including.

• Verbal communication 

• Written communication 

• Active listening

• Collaboration

• Teamwork

• Leadership 

• Relationship building 

• Conflict resolution

• Empathy

• Positive attitude

How to include soft skills on your CV

Adding a long list of soft skills on its own isn’t helpful. Recruiters need to know how you’ve used these skills, so it’s important to add context. Just as importantly, the skills need to be relevant to the role you’re applying for, so a tailored and focused document is a must. 

Where to list soft skills on your CV

Let’s take your CV section by section and investigate how soft skills can be added in each. 

Profile

As your elevator pitch, the profile needs to be aligned very closely with the requirements of the role you’re applying for. For some positions, such as a software developer working from home, soft skills might not be a high enough priority to warrant detail in this prime CV space. For other positions, such as a retail sales assistant, they’re vital to success in the role and should be included. 

In summary: add soft skills to the profile only if they’re critical to the role. 

For example: 

A positive and approachable waitress, with a strong background in customer service and hospitality. Builds strong relationships with colleagues and customers with a helpful attitude and a bubbly personality. 

Key skills 

This seems like the ideal place to add some soft skills! Hold on, though. Before you write a long, dry list, remember what we said about context. 

The Key Skills section should be focused on keywords that are listed as requirements in the job advert. This will ensure your CV is found in recruiter searches and also provides an at-a-glance summary of what you can offer. With these points in mind, the Key Skills section is almost always weighted in favour of hard skills. That’s not to say soft skills are wrong here, though! Just bear in mind that they lose some of their impact without context, so should be restricted only to those soft skills most necessary to perform the role. 

For example:

Physiotherapy  |   Rehabilitation   |   Patient Assessment   |   Care Planning   |   Caseload Management   |   Verbal Communication   |   Teamwork   |   Active Listening

Professional Experience

Finally, a section where those soft skills can really come into their own. This section is detailed enough to enable you to provide that all-important context. Each role in this section is divided into two parts - the role overview and the achievements. 

In the role overview, mention relevant soft skills only briefly. In the achievements, you can go into detail and, more importantly, show how your soft skills have added value within the business. 

For example: 

Acting as the key point of contact when the Assistant Director is not available and making decisions on their behalf. Screening telephone calls and handling customer complaints. Developing robust relationships with members, and liaising with them on a regular basis to resolve their enquiries.

Key achievements:

• Collaborating with the Head of HR and Customer Services to deliver all housekeeping arrangements for an on-site visit by the Peer Review Team

• Successfully dealing with challenging clients, diffusing difficult situations and acting as sole point of contact for more demanding cases

Expert tip: Quantify your achievements wherever possible. For example: Organised 6 team building events, or Wrote 3 annual Board reports.

Qualifications 

There’s limited scope to add soft skills in this section… unless you’re a recent graduate. In that case, more detail is expected here and you can mention soft skills acquired during team projects or seminars. 

For example: 

Degree in Marketing Communications, University of Melbourne, 2024

Project leader for research into consumer behaviour, which included coordinating the team and presenting research findings to an audience of academics. 

If you’re not a recent graduate, don’t forget to list any courses or training you’ve completed that show off your soft skills.

For example: 

Leadership Programme completed 2024

How to improve your soft skills

Although soft skills are largely innate, we all have scope to improve. If you feel your soft skills are holding you back, there are steps you can take to enhance them. Try these steps: 

• Identify skills gaps: Start by getting a good idea of what you need to improve. You could ask colleagues or your line manager for feedback, or evaluate job adverts you’re interested in to see if there are any consistent boxes you can’t tick yet. 

• Ask for help: That could be in the form of a mentor, regular one-to-ones with your manager, or advice from a trusted friend on strategies that have worked for them. 

• Take a course: There’s a course for everything, so whether you take up an internal company offering, do an online course in your own time, or opt for a formal academic programme, you’ll find a learning method that works for you. 

Call in the pros

We’ve discussed why soft skills are important, listed some common soft skills, and explained how to include them on your CV. You should be ready to apply for some jobs now! 

If you’d like a professional eye cast over your CV before you send it off for that dream role, why not get a free CV review from the experts at TopResume? They’ll provide feedback to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward in your job search.