Technical Skills vs Soft Skills: Finding a Balance for Career Success

Learn what the hard and soft skills are, and how to add them to your resume.

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Hard and soft skills are equally important for building a successful career. Hard skills mostly mean your technical abilities and specialized industry knowledge, and soft skills refer to your ability to interact with others. When hiring new talent, employers look for a combination of both technical skills and soft ones.

Today, we will look into the definition of hard skills and soft skills and their key differences. Plus, we will explore how to develop your skills and how to feature them effectively on your resume.

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What are hard skills?

Hard skills refer to professional skills essential to do your job well. You can learn them, and the level of proficiency in these skills is easy to measure through tests and assessments. They are associated with job-related processes and technologies and thus you'll need different skills for each industry and role.

For a software developer, the essential technical skills are Java and Python programming languages and data analysis tools. An accountant needs to have skills in AP/AR, MS Excel, QuickBooks, and tax accounting.

Here are the examples of technical skills:

1. Software development
2. Graphic design
3. Financial forecasting
4. Foreign language proficiency
5. Programming languages
6. Electrical repair
7. UI/UX design
8. Copywriting
9. Project management
10. Video production
11. Bookkeeping
12. Teaching/instruction

What is the definition of soft skills?

Soft skills are interpersonal skills that determine how we interact with other people and act in various workplace situations. Unlike hard skills, they are more difficult to acquire and are next to impossible to measure. Yet, they are highly important. According to research by Harvard University and the Carnegie Foundation, well-developed soft skills contribute to 85% of job success.

Employers often use behavioral interview questions to understand the soft skills of a candidate. In particular, they check communication skills, the ability to handle various workplace situations and keep calm under pressure. The essential human skills also depend on the role. For example, for a customer support rep, communication and conflict resolution skills are the must-haves, whereas for the data analyst, they aren't a top priority.

Examples of soft skills are:

1. Emotional intelligence
2. Critical thinking
3. Work ethic
4. Conflict management
5. Time management
6. Creative thinking
7. Active listening
8. Self-awareness
9. Leadership
10. Problem-solving
11. Teamwork

The difference between technical skills vs soft skills

Now, let's explore the major difference between a hard and soft skill:

• Hard skills depend on the industry and sometimes even the company. For a software developer, it won't be easy to switch jobs without significant retraining. On the other hand, soft skills are more situational and not tied to a specific industry. For example, if you have excellent teamwork and presentation skills, they will be valuable in finance, healthcare, education, and many other fields.
• You can earn technical skills through formal education and training. For example, you can learn German in college, take online courses, or complete a certification program. There are also measurable levels of proficiency in certain skills. It means that if you are motivated enough, you can master any hard skills easily. With soft skills, things are more complicated. There isn't a precise framework for evaluating soft skills, and they develop naturally as you study, work, or participate in volunteering projects. Soft skills are mastered more slowly than hard skills.
• In some industries, technical skills must be validated by certifications or boards. This rule applies to nurses, electrical engineers, and many other roles. Hard skills are easy to confirm with diplomas and certifications. Soft skill development is not backed up with certifications. People reveal them through workplace situations, and in 360-degree assessments and behavioral interviews.
• When acquiring technical skills, you mostly use intelligence and the left hemisphere of your brain. To develop soft skills, you need emotional skills or EQ. The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for it.
• Technical skills need frequent upskilling and updating, especially in the tech field. Programming languages and financial regulations change, and a good professional needs to stay updated. On the contrary, people skills never become outdated. If you learned how to manage a team once, this skill will remain with you forever. Plus, human skills are next to impossible to replace by robots.

Technical skills	Soft skills
Depend on the industry and the position	Are transferable across industries
Acquired through formal educaiton and training	Learned naturally as you study, work, and interact with others
Easy to access and measure and have proficiency levels	Difficult to measure and are checked in workplace situations
Require frequent updating and upskilling	Are a part of your personality and cannot be replaced by AI

Technical skills are easier to acquire. They have structured learning pathways and certifications that you can share with a potential employer. Soft skills are essential for professional success as they describe your effective collaboration with others. Moreover, they become more important as you move to the management positions.

Both technical and soft skills are important for your job search and building a fulfilling career. Without technical knowledge, you won't get hired in the first place. Yet, if you don't communicate effectively, manage emotions, or lead others, you'll struggle to develop professionally.

Now, let's look at the popular ways to learn technical and soft skills, and how to present both skill sets on your resume.

How do you develop your technical and soft skills?

Technical skills refer to your ability to perform specific tasks on the job. They lay the foundation of your technical expertise and are easy to measure. You can master these skills while obtaining your university degree or certification. Some technical skills are easy to acquire in online courses, certification programs, lectures, webinars, or on-the-job training. Thus, you will gain a competitive advantage and increase your employability.

Soft skills enable your successful interaction with others in the workplace. Although there are training programs and courses in soft skills, they are more difficult to access and measure. That's why the best way to build important soft skills is through navigating workplace situations, volunteering, or working on student or community projects. To master technical aspects of soft skills, you may take advantage of workplace training.

The advantages of comprehensive training at work

Company training programs can develop essential technical and soft skills in employees and provide a comprehensive learning experience. Plus, they are tailored to the company needs and focused on skills essential for business success. They usually combine theoretical and practical learning for better comprehension.

Hard and soft skills training can improve employee performance and engagement. Plus, they boost employee confidence and competence which has a positive impact on the organization. As an employee, as you expand your skill set and knowledge, you work your way toward professional success and career growth.

Whether it's a soft skills seminar or technical training, it is best to take advantage of the learning opportunities offered by the company to improve your employability and boost your career.

How to add technical and soft skills to your resume?

Now that you know the value of adding the right technical and soft skills, it's time to include them on your resume properly. There are three ways to do it:

Add a separate Skills section

41% of recruiters look at the Skills section in your resume first. Ease this task for them and create the Skills section to feature your key competencies. You can place this section right after the summary for better visibility.

Resume experts recommend including between 8 and 16 skills. Make sure to tailor all skills you add to the specific job posting. Thus, you will increase your chance of passing the ATS screening and get the human hiring manager interested.

Here's an example of the Skills section for a marketing manager position:

• Marketing Strategy
• SEO optimization
• Content management
• Competitive analysis
• G Suite
• Budget management
• Communication skills
• Campaign planning
• Project management
• Google Ads
• Leadership
• Negotiation

Show soft and technical skills through examples

For a better impact, you need to prove the skills you've listed with examples. When reviewing your resume, a recruiter will want to know when you used those skills. If you give detailed job descriptions, it will help them evaluate your skills better.

For example, to illustrate your problem-solving skills, you can write "Identified errors in the social media promotion and updated the strategy, resulting in a 40% growth in followers and a 15% increase in social sales".

Feature them in your Career Summary

To draw the reader's attention instantly, you may feature one or two important technical skills in your Summary section. Better yet, do it with the example.

The Summary section in your resume works as an elevator pitch. It will be the first thing the hiring manager will see. Thus, you want to mention your most impressive skills and accomplishments here.

Yet, don't overdo it. One or two relevant skills are usually enough. Keep the entire section to 2-3 sentences for better readability.

Want to know the recipe for a perfect resume summary? Here is our curated list of 20+ effective resume summaries plus professional tips.

Tips to list skills on your resume effectively

These recommendations will make your skills shine on a resume:

Optimize it for ATS

98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS (applicant tracking software) systems. For you, it means that your resume should be ATS-friendly, or it will get overlooked.

When deciding what skills to include, read the job posting carefully. Pay attention to skills that appear frequently or are the must-haves to be considered. List those skills in your Skills section and expand on them further in a resume.

Find the balance between technical skills and soft skills

Don't include hard skills or soft skills only. Strike the right balance between them and make sure your resume reflects both types of skills. The right balance will depend on your industry and role.

If your role is heavily skill-based (say, you're a software engineer or data analyst), focus on technical skills in the first place. Mention all programming languages, frameworks, data analysis tools, and other software essential for your daily work. Then, list 2-3 soft skills that you consider your biggest strengths.

If soft skills are more important for your position (you're a salesperson, customer support rep, or manager), present them in the first place. Yet, don't forget to include hard skills for your role.

Mention skills in your cover letter

In addition to your resume, include the key skills in your cover letter. No need to write "I have excellent problem-solving and communication skills". Instead, say "I excel at customer communication - by using consultative sales approach, I managed to increase the average cheque in the store by 14%". Your cover letter should contain specific examples of where you used your key skills. If you can add measurable results, it's even better.

Key Takeaways

• Technical skills are specific knowledge and competencies you need to do your job well. Soft skills reflect your interactions with others and how you navigate workplace situations.
• Both types of skills are essential to succeed in the modern workplace. As the AI takes over most industries, soft skills become even more important as they cannot be replaced by machines.
• You can acquire technical and soft skills through education, training, and coaching. Soft skills are more difficult to develop and are more valuable to employers.
• When describing your skills on a resume, create a specific Skills section. Give examples of where you used those skills in your Experience section.

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