Initially, I assumed that it is another HR buzz word and, thus, had a very negative perception of the concept of Hard Skills and Soft Skills. This is however soon after, I got to know how important they are when I entered into university and when I entered into internships.
Now you are likely to ask yourself: What are the differences between Hard Skills and Soft Skills? Why do employers care so much? And how do I balance both?”
It is this that I am going to discuss here. We will determine Hard Skills and Soft Skills, dissect real life examples and most importantly we will determine how you and I could develop either.
1. First of all, Hard Skills and Soft Skills should be defined
Okay, let’s clear the basics.
The technical, quantifiable skills are a hard skill. Writing in JavaScript, computer design, accounting or even driving a car is an example. You can certify them, test them or validate them by actual work output.
Conversely, we have the soft skills that are human and interpersonal skills. Think about communication, teamwork, emotional intelligence, management or even time management. They are more hard to measure, but you feel them when one has them (or has not).
The hard skills that I had were very much proud in my first job interview, I volunteered programming languages, tools and projects. Nevertheless, the point of view of the recruiter kept turning back to my soft skills: How do you resolve conflict? Can you work under pressure? How do you respond to the errors of your co-worker?
Then only I saw that both of them are equally important.
2. The Tangible vs The Intangible
I inform my younger cousins the following:
- Hard skills: This is what you can prove in paper.
- Soft skills: What other people tell about you.
One of them is that I can offer my Excel certification to a manager. That’s a hard skill. However, do my team members like to work with me? it is a sweet art, and not one of the certificates can testify to it.
Such a difference is probably the most elementary, but eye-opening.
3. The Way You Learn them: Classroom vs. Life Experience
My hard skills were primarily attained in form of formal education. University lectures. Online courses. YouTube tutorials.
But my soft skills? They also appeared to walk in since they had failed group assignments or some of the members of the group were in bad mood or even due to some part time employment in a cafe. You are not able to be in a classroom and learn empathy. You live it.
This is why I believe that the real strength of soft skills is in the fact that they multiply with you.
4. Measuring Progress
And this is good: hard skills can be measured easily. Fortunately, there is at least one person who knows how to create a login system and there is at least one who does not.
But, the measurement is more challenging when soft skills are used. How would you rate leadership? Or patience? People tend to measure them through feedback, peer-reviewed or by simply observing long-term behavior.
This is why behavioral interviews are carried out quite often in companies. They desire to possess your low skills in performance rather than appearing on a resume.
5. Which One Gets You the Job?
This comes as a surprise: it has been discovered that hard skills will put your resume on the top, whereas soft skills will help you to be hired in many instances.
I also once flunked an interview after being overly preoccupied with the desire to demonstrate that I was technologically adept. The company was however in need of someone who would work and adapt at a short notice. The job went to one of my friends who was not as technical as I was, since she responded well to the questions concerning the team fit.
Lesson? Hard skills are those that make you enter the door of the room, whereas soft skills are those that keep you within the room.
6. Career development: The Climbing the Ladder
Among the things I learnt with a mentor is the following:
Hard skills will land you your first job. The distance is based on love and fair play.
Think of managers and leaders whom you enjoy. Do they inspire you because they are technically knowledgeable? Or are they inspirational, auditory and directive? Exactly.
This is why one should be aware of the difference between the Hard Skills and Soft Skills, in case one would like to move not only to the next city, but also to the next level.
7. Judging by the specimens it is as clear as day
Now it is time to play a game of quick comparison:
- Writing code: hard skill
- Dismantling such code to other team members in the non-tech department: soft skill.
- Running a lab test: hard skill
- Distributing the news to a terrified patient: soft skill.
- Editing a video: hard skill
- Pitching a customer that is not going to listen to your creative thought: soft skill.
See the pattern? Both are needed. Alone, neither is enough.
8. Action plan: Both the Building and the Balance
Here’s what worked for me:
To build hard skills:
- Full-course online education (Coursera, Udemy, YouTube).
- Practice daily. Skills are like muscles, you are supposed to do reps.
- Gather: certifications, portfolios or side projects.
To build soft skills:
- Volunteer in team projects.
- Enter into awkward conversations.
- Solicit feedback (even painful).
- Watch leaders with whom you admire and copy their styles.
You need both of them in case you plan to be really successful. Learn how to develop both Hard Skills and Soft Skills in your life, and be actively engaged in the process.
My Final Thoughts
The biggest error of the students is the excessive attention to the technicalities and the lack of the human component. I was guilty of this too. But when you have the two combined the magic will get really true.
That is why I would suggest the following: keep on polishing your hard skills (to be competent), but you must never forget about your soft skills (they make you valuable).
As there is no deadline when the day will be over, employers do not simply hire skills, but people. And those who know both parties? They do not only survive, they also prosper.
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