4 Soft Skills to Help You Stand Out During Your Next Job Interview Ace your next job interview with these essential intangibles.
By Entrepreneur Deals •
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Whether it's obvious or not, hiring managers and interviewers evaluate you for certain soft skills. These intangibles can indicate if you're a good culture fit, how you work in a team environment, or if you have the makings of their next superstar.
Soft skills, also known as people skills or emotional intelligence, illustrate how you interact with people. They can even enhance or diminish the value of your work.
While having experience and technical background and utilizing job search sites like ZipRecruiter are important for getting your foot in the door, the interview is the time to leave the hiring team with no question you're the best person for the job. Recruiters will agree that strong soft skills are more important than years of experience in many cases. These soft skills could set you apart from other candidates with similar backgrounds.
The good news is that soft skills can be improved and developed. Explore how these essential soft skills can add value to your skill set so you can highlight them in your next big interview.
1. Communication
Articulating your thoughts in an engaging way is one of the first things interviewers and colleagues will notice about you. Clear communication is a valuable soft skill because it displays confidence and efficiency.
Try practicing your communication skills before an interview by rehearsing answers to potential questions or topics that may come up, researching the company, and practicing questions for the interviewer.
And hone your written communication as well. Not only will you likely be in email contact with hiring managers, those who use ZipRecruiter are able add screening questions to their job posts. So you may need to prove your communication skills well before landing an actual interview.
2. Enthusiasm
So many skills can be taught but having a natural enthusiasm for a position or company can positively impact your interview. Hiring managers know that people who show genuine enthusiasm for their careers tend to be better employees.
Though it may seem minor, this soft skill indicates that you have the company's best interests in mind, pay attention to the details, and output quality work.
3. Leadership
Whether you're a seasoned professional or interviewing for your first job, leadership experience is something hiring managers are looking for. What's best about this essential soft skill is that leadership can come from anywhere.
Think of a time when you stepped up to the plate, inspired others, or took the initiative. Strong leaders can adapt and come out on top during difficult situations, so highlighting this soft skill can give interviewers an idea of how you will perform when faced with obstacles.
4. Problem-solving
You've probably run into a few roadblocks at some point in your life or career. Being able to explain how you've learned from and overcome challenges can be a massive bonus in the eyes of an interviewer. It shows that you are entrepreneurial and don't accept the status quo. Companies need problem solvers to develop new strategies and process improvements. This is a fantastic soft skill to bring up in an interview.
No matter where you are in the hiring process, ZipRecruiter can help you find your next career move. This popular choice among job seekers and hiring managers makes getting found by quality employers simple. With powerful AI matching technology and one-tap apply, it's no wonder ZipRecruiter is rated #1 job site in the U.S.1
1 Based on G2 satisfaction ratings as of December 31, 2020
