These Overlooked Skills Will Get You Ahead in Your Career (But Aren’t On Your Resume)

Research suggests that only 20% of a candidate’s success can be attributed to his intelligence quotient or IQ; however, a huge 80% comes down to emotional quotient or EQ.

Sadly, for managerial level jobs, many candidates focus primarily on their hard skills, thinking it will assist them in moving forward towards growth and overall development. But, over the past few years, the tables are turning and those who fancy to move ahead in their careers are expected to demonstrate commendable soft skills.

Gone are the times when employers hired and promoted those who excelled only in reasoning and technical proficiency. In the current scenario, for all fields of career, it is a prerequisite for candidates to exhibit self-management skills such as self-confidence, effective communication skills, time management, presentation skills and so forth in order to advance in their chosen field.

What are these soft skills? Can we improve soft skills?

Here are a few of the most important soft skills that can help in career advancement:

Communication skills

Irrefutably, communication skills are indeed the most pertinent soft skill required for sufficing the need of career advancement. It is futile to anticipate career advancement without learning and developing effective interpersonal communication skills. Be aware of how well you communicate with your boss, your coworkers and clients and how you can improve your interpersonal communication skills.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How well do I communicate with my boss/coworkers/clients?
• Do I have a good relationship with my boss/coworkers/clients?
• Am I able to get my point(s) across clearly?
• Do I ever have disputes with coworkers or clients?
• Do I choose my words wisely while having difficult conversations?
• How can I improve my communication skills at work?

Problem-solving skills

You don’t stand a chance to get a promotion in any field if you are unable to handle and solve a crisis in your workplace. Employers value problem solvers as they are the ones who help organizations survive tough times. When a problem arises at work, take the necessary steps to resolve it and your boss is sure to take notice. Start by evaluating the issue, understanding everyone’s interest, listing the possible solutions, evaluating the options, choosing a suitable solution and finally, implementing the necessary changes to solve it.

Leadership skills

Some have innate leadership skills, but for most it is required of them to undergo a leadership training program wherein, with the help of professional coaches, the leadership skills are developed and nurtured. Look for soft skills development programs that impart training on how to develop leadership skills.

Practice leadership skills by taking an active part in group projects, learning more about industry trends and best practices, thinking strategically about how to better the business and suggesting new initiatives that will improve the business or make your boss’s life easier.

Team working skills

In most roles you will be expected to work in a team at some point, which obviously means being able to work well with others is essential for you to grow in an organization. You, along with your team, should be able to meet objectives in a given time frame. While this may appear on your resume in the job skills section, having examples of how you have worked well with a team in the past during an interview will help guarantee your success. What’s more, exhibiting this soft skill at work on a regular basis will show your boss just how important you are and will make you a likely candidate when applying for higher positions or when asking for a salary increase.

Time-management skills

For big companies, time is money and you cannot afford to waste it. You are expected to work well under stress and come up with solutions without panicking and wasting time. Managing time wisely is of profound significance, as it helps in making sure that no time is wasted in getting a particular job done.

All in all, this list of soft skills mentioned above is not exhaustive. In addition to the mentioned skills, there are plenty of other soft skills that are required for career advancement. And, the good news is, with the help of right soft skills training, you can learn and nurture these skills. Of course, it takes practice and patience to fully develop these skills, but with the right training and correct guidance, you are bound to succeed.

What next?

Once you fully understand this broad range of soft skills, next thing is to get into the habit of practicing these skills at work, and even elsewhere, until they become a second nature to you.