4 soft skills you need post-pandemic
As businesses start to picture a post-pandemic future, it’s clear that some soft skills are increasingly seen as more attractive for their future employees to have.
In a nutshell, these are soft skills that are ‘interpersonal’ - they’re the things we rely on to communicate and interact well with other people. These skills are also valuable because they’re transferable between job to job, and sector to sector.
There’s still plenty of uncertainty about what the world of work will look like in the months to come. But no matter your career path, it can be useful to learn which skills are on employers’ wishlists – and then show you have them.
1. Soft Skills: Show you’re adaptable
Adaptability was a soft skill that was growing in demand before the pandemic - and one we’ve already talked about at HR GO (you can read more about how important it is, here).
But now it counts for even more. With the world of work in such huge flux, being adaptable as a job candidate doesn’t just mean you can endure change - but you can also embrace it.
Being any kind of employee during the nationwide lockdowns of 2020 meant having to respond to rapidly changing conditions - whether that was switching to working from home or taking on board new safety measures in a physical workplace.
And with the future still uncertain, savvy employers are realising that they need to fill their teams with people who are prepared for disruption and able to take on obstacles of all types.
2. Soft Skills: Show you can direct yourself
If you’ve worked remotely you’ll already know that motivation and self-direction are vital to get things done - especially as there’s no manager physically present nearby to check up on you.
It turns out that these are useful skills to equip yourself with post-pandemic, too.
No matter what career path you’re on, remote working means you’ll have more independence in the future and so it’s crucial to be able to ‘own’ your own workload.
If you’re a career newbie who hasn’t experienced a physical office or place of work, it might be a more challenging skill to learn.
That makes training and distance learning even more crucial - and it’ll be up to you to pinpoint the skills and support you need to do your best work.
3. Show you could lead
Are leadership skills something that only managers need? Increasingly, the answer is ‘no’. These skills can help you become a strong candidate in a competitive job market, no matter your rank.
The beginnings of leadership skills can also be about inspiring, encouraging and motivating others through your actions in your everyday role - whether you work alongside other people or are based remotely.
Being able to communicate confidently and clearly counts, as does the ability to take on feedback with good grace and a positive mindset.
4. Show you can communicate with clients
Certain skills are in demand across all industries - and one of these is knowing how to communicate effectively (whether that’s through written emails, verbally by phone, face-to-face or increasingly now via a screen).
At HR GO we also see that being able to communicate well with clients and customers is growing in importance - and it doesn’t matter which role or sector you work in.
Even if yours isn’t a customer-facing role, it’s good to understand what makes an organisations’ clients tick - and the right messages that turn them into loyal customers.
Hand in hand with this is being aware of other people’s emotions, and having empathy for how they’re feeling.
The economic landscape is uncertain, with many businesses needing to draw deep to survive. And it makes sense that job candidates who can show they know how to communicate with clients - with emotional intelligence - will help you stand out in a crowded field.
As you navigate the job market in new times, it’s clear that soft skills are now the skills that will help you survive and thrive well into the future.
Train yourself in soft skills
Google Digital Garage and Open University have teamed up to offer free soft skills online courses.
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