What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person’s relationships with other people. In the workplace, soft skills are considered to be a complement to hard skills, which refer to a person’s knowledge and occupational skills. Sociologists may use the term soft skills to describe a person’s emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) as opposed to intelligence quotient (IQ).
Soft skills have more to do with who people are, rather than what they know. As such, they encompass the character traits that decide how well one interacts with others and usually are a definite part of an individual’s personality. In a competitive labor market, employees who demonstrate they have a good combination of hard and soft skills often see a greater demand for their services.
- Soft skills include attributes and personality traits that help employees interact with others and succeed in the workplace.
- Examples of soft skills include the ability to communicate with prospective clients, mentor your coworkers, lead a team, negotiate a contract, follow instructions, and get a job done on time.
- Hard skills are measurable and usually obtained through formal education and training programs.
- Workers with good soft skills can help companies achieve higher levels of efficiency and productivity.
- In contrast to hard skills, soft skills are more difficult to acquire through training.