When we think of a ‘soft skill’ in the corporate job world, we may think of something that is not as important as the ‘hard skill’ counterparts that come with most jobs. While technical skills and hard knowledge are important to success, soft skills play a bigger role in your career progression than you might realize. Especially in the digital marketing field, developing soft skills will help you in any position you might find yourself in. They help all of your days go smoother and your understanding of the hard skills will come quicker as well. These skills can be the difference in transforming your business. Even further, hiring decisions are often based on soft skills. The team at Lyv Marketing is here to help you learn about these skills and how you can build them in your current role. Keep reading this week’s blog for more!
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills refer to skills that are more akin to a personality trait or a habit than to knowledge of a system or process. For example, interpersonal skills and your ability to communicate are referred to as soft skills that employers may look for. Some more of these include teamwork, flexibility, dependability, etc. It is probably clear at this point that ideally, every employer would like to see these qualities in a candidate, but finding all of them together can be difficult. And, when a majority of the employees in an organization are missing these qualities, the dynamic can feel strained. This can happen even when all of these employees have the hard skills necessary to complete the job.
The Most Important Soft Skills
Now that we know that soft skills are important and have a high value on hiring decisions, let’s talk about which ones you should prioritize over others. If you are able to anticipate your employer’s needs and solve their problems in an efficient manner, you are more likely to get hired and then promoted. Career progression and fulfillment are greatly dependent on your possessing these skills.
If you’re not sure whether you have the right soft skills, we are here to help. The LinkedIn Global Talent Trends report outlines these for us. These skills are deemed necessary by companies, but are regularly hard to find in the hiring market.
Creativity: This is a huge soft skill that is in major demand according to LinkedIn and employers. Creativity is useful in almost every corporate role you can think of, not just marketing and design. It helps you to solve problems in different ways than others might. Creativity can be developed over time and fostered like any other skill, you just have to put the time in to build it.
Persuasion: Very important to digital marketing and sales, it describes being able to sway potential customers into buying a product or investing in a service. Communication and critical thinking go into this one, which means it requires many different forms of thinking to achieve.
Collaboration: The ability to work together with a team is absolutely vital to success on most teams and in most industries. Marketing managers, content writers, and designers all use this skill to work together on certain projects. Interpersonal skills go along with this one and add another layer to the digital world that we currently live in. Being able to maintain relationships with coworkers even when you are not working in the same office gives you a major advantage.
Adaptability: Digital marketing is a fast industry that is constantly changing. Because of this, being able to change with the times and with advancements puts you in a better place for success. This could mean learning how to use a new tool or being able to collaborate in a new way under new circumstances.
Time Management: This one can be tough for just about everyone. It can be challenging to maintain a clear plan and use your time wisely while at work. Often, this is a skill that workers will gain and evolve with over time. Meeting deadlines is essential to most corporate positions and is crucial to your success in the job.
Takeaway: Soft Skills are Just as Important as Hard Skills
In your career, soft skills are not just extras that are ‘nice’ to have for your employer, they are usually essential to your success in the role. Employers are constantly looking for these skills in future employees and sometimes they have a lot of trouble finding them. Mastering these skills can set you apart from the rest of the crowd more than the hard skills you already possess. The best part of these skills is that they are not purely innate. They can be developed over time and you can dictate how quickly they evolve. The team at Lyv Marketing is always here to guide you in your digital marketing experience. Visit our website for more!
