16 Soft Skills to Elevate Your Career (Well beyond credentials and experience!)
Beyond credentials and experience, soft skills are the key to lasting success. Discover 16 invaluable soft skills that will transform your professional life.
Dive into our post for actionable do's and don'ts to help you master these skills.
Soft skills
Below you'll find 16 of them, along with do's and don'ts:
1) Work Ethic
Do: Embrace hard work without complaining
Don't: Focus on quantity - outcomes matter more than hours
2) Growth Mindset
Do: Appreciate feedback & learning, and apply both Don't: Think you have everything figured out
3) Professionalism
Do: Be trustworthy to represent your organization publicly
Don't: Assume you can cross the line in relaxed settings
4) Adaptability
Do: Adjust your approach when circumstances change Don't: Stubbornly stick to your ways, especially after setbacks
5) Reliability
Do: Deliver what you promise, when you promise - every time
Don't: Miss deadlines or underperform on promises
6) Self-Awareness
Do: Understand how others perceive your actions Don't: Be arrogant, selfish, or think you're above critique
7) Active Listening
Do: Restate someone's point so they say "Yes, exactly!" Don't: Be so focused on your response that you forget to listen
8) Time Management
Do: Stay organized and finish projects within reasonable time frames
Don't: Procrastinate until you can't seek help or finish on time
9) Likeability
Do: Make things easier for others whenever possible Don't: Be overly difficult to work with
10) Emotional Intelligence
Do: Control your emotional responses
Don't: Make hot-headed outbursts
11) People Reading
Do: Pay attention to reactions, body language & mood Don't: Fail to adjust based on explicit or implicit feedback
12) Communication
Do: Speak and write simply & clearly, leading with the conclusion
Don't: Use complex language to sound smart
13) Collaboration
Do: Work well with others, sharing information, ideas & credit
Don't: Think "I could just do this faster myself"
14) Motivation
Do: Show initiative, starting projects early & independently
Don't: Require constant hand-holding & encouragement
15) Integrity
Do: Tell the truth & be transparent, even if the news is bad
Don't: Think you can just brush things under the rug
16) Grit
Do: Show resilience toward challenges & keep showing
Don't: Shrink in the face of hard things
Master these 16 skills, and you'll become unstoppable.
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