Importance of Soft Skills

Hey there! So good to have you back again. In this blog, we will understand the top 5 skills and traits that companies look for before hiring any candidate. As the workforce continues to reinvent itself, soft skills have emerged as a critical component and have become vital for workplace success.

Did you know that three in four employers face difficulty finding the right talent? As per a survey, global talent shortages have reached an all-time high with 83% of employers facing challenges in finding the right fit for a particular role.

It has also been reported that employers are finding it hard to find certain skills in candidates. Some of them are creativity, originality, critical thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, leadership and social skills, initiative-taking skills, etc. In modern times, employers are looking for the perfect mix of soft skills.

On the other hand, 81% of candidates expect training programs to be up to date with the skills required by the employers. Here’s what companies must do to retain talent: 

• Encourage and invest in learning and development programs to grow and build a talent pipeline.
• Researching and attracting talent that cannot be built in-house.
• Help employees move up to new roles within the same organization.

Let us now deep dive and understand the top 5 skills and traits that companies look for while hiring the right candidate.

1. Engagement:
• In simple words, it means working whole heartedly towards the goals of the company and caring about the outcome. At the same, it also means giving your best every day.
• It takes an engaged employee to bring passion to the role. Unfortunately, there is a lack of engagement in several candidates today.
2. Teamwork: 
• Another key professional skill that is crucial to have is the ability to work well with others. Today, everyone is eager to prove that they are team players. 
• Did you know that teamwork is more than just being a pleasant person to work with?
• Statistics prove that employees who work as a team can accomplish tasks faster and much more efficiently than those who work individually. 
• Teamwork is important because it enables sharing of ideas and responsibilities, which reduces stress and allows everyone to be meticulous while completing tasks. 
3. Art of effective communication:
• You are bound to find written and verbal communication in any soft skills list.
• Communication is not just having the ability to speak and write clearly but also having the ability to be an active listener and process what others say. 
• An employee who cannot effectively share and receive information is left behind by the rest of the team in today’s remote and hybrid work environments.
• Thus, effective communication allows all the members of the team to learn and understand their roles so that duplication of work is avoided.
• Effective communication also enables the team members to be aware of the needs and goals of the project, which leads to improved focus on realizing those goals/ needs.
4. Problem-solving:
• Due to the pandemic, the workforce faced challenges far beyond the norm. Several companies were forced to go virtual overnight.
• Virtual solutions were needed, and thus, individuals who excel in this area are those who approach the problems from a different perspective and refuse to accept less than desirable results. 
• Problem-solving is just another term for critical thinking. The best problem-solvers are the ones who strategize and work on mitigating problems that aren’t even evident yet. 
• Problem-solving skills are the most valuable and trusted asset in any firm. Problem-solvers constantly think of new ideas and better ways to perform activities, making it easier for team members to understand things, and helping customers save time and money.
5. Leadership:
• Leadership can be defined as more than just an ability to take responsibility.
• Leaders are best known for constantly developing their abilities and striving to become better versions of themselves. 
• True leaders are those who are willing to learn. Such individuals take feedback and use it to fuel their growth. 
• Thus, soft skills make or break the hiring decision. As the world automates, soft skills are the currency of the future and the key to unlocking a career path that lets you contribute something irreplaceable.

Technical skills are useless without soft skills as technical skills alone are not enough to survive and be truly effective. This is one of the reasons why EduPristine provides complimentary soft skills training to all its students.

These soft skills sessions help in enhancing team spirit, self-confidence, communication, empathy, assertiveness, and personality.

EduPristine is well known for not only soft skills sessions but also for its professional courses in the domain of accounting, finance, and marketing. The courses provided at EduPristine are theACCA course, theCPA course, theCMA course, theCFA course, thefinancial modeling course, theFRM course, thePGP-BAT course, and thedigital marketing course.

You can visit our center for a counselling session in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, or Chennai, or visit our website for more details. All the best and happy learning!