What are hard and soft skills and how do you mention them on a CV!

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In the job descriptions they post, employers often look for a combination of soft and technical skills. Which are known in English as Soft Skills and Hard Skills. These two types of skills are among the most important factors for achieving success and advancement in any job, whatever it may be.
In today’s article, we will learn what personal and technical skills, or “soft and hard skills,” mean, the difference between them, and how to mention and clarify them on a CV or during a job interview.

What is the difference between soft and technical skills?

The basic difference between hard skills and soft skills lies in how they are acquired and used in the work environment.
Technical skills are often acquired through education or specialized training, and include competencies such as how to use a particular machine, computer program or tool. While personal skills or soft skills are viewed as personality traits that an individual may spend his entire life learning and developing. He needs it when communicating with others or when he faces a difficult situation for the first time in his life…etc.
In other words, it can be said that hard skills express technical expertise, while soft or personal skills represent general habits in the work environment.

What Hard Skills?

Technical or hard skills are technical knowledge that you obtain through life experiences, whether in your job or as a result of training courses or specialized education. To understand it better, here are a group of examples of this type of skill:

• If you work in food service or retail, you may have knowledge of how to use point-of-sale systems.
• If you have previously taken an accounting course, you may have the skill to work on Microsoft Excel.
• If you study a specific foreign language, you have the skill of speaking this language fluently.

In short, every job has its own technical skills. If you want to work in the field of architecture, for example, you must be proficient in working with engineering drawing and planning software. The same applies to other jobs, as each of them requires special skills, knowledge, and sometimes specialized certificates. Some employers may also offer training and courses to provide their employees with the skills necessary to succeed in their jobs.
What are the most important Hard skills I should have?

What are the most important technical skills I should have?
Below is a list of the most important technical skills, hard skills, that employers require in most jobs available in the labor market:

• Proficiency in a second language or more than one language.
• Database management.
• Proficiency in working with Adobe software.
• Network security.
• Marketing and search engine optimization (SEM/SEO).
• Statistical analyses.
• Data mining techniques.
• Mobile phone application development.
• User experience design.
• Managing marketing and advertising campaigns.
• Data storage and management systems.
• Proficiency in various programming languages ​​(Python, Java, etc.)

What are Soft Skills?

• Personal or soft skills are the habits and personal traits that shape the way you work, whether alone or with others. Effective communication, for example, is one of the personal skills most requested by employers, in addition to other skills such as self-reliance, teamwork, or listening to others.
• Personal skills play an important role in the process of searching for or applying for job opportunities. While hard technical skills contribute to successfully completing tasks related to a specific job, soft skills are essential for creating a positive atmosphere in the work environment that helps raise productivity and achieve the company’s goals and vision.
• For this reason, we find that employers often look for candidates who have the right mix of both technical and soft skills. While some may look for those who have very strong interpersonal skills, since they are usually more difficult to acquire and require a lot of time and effort.
• For example, maybe you are looking for a job in human resources, but lack the skills to use data analysis tools. If you have reference sources that prove the effectiveness of your soft/interpersonal skills (such as empathy, effective communication skills, etc.), the employer may choose you and prefer you over another candidate for the job who has stronger hard skills than you, but lacks the soft skills that you possess.

What are the most important personal skills that I should possess?

The following list includes the most important personal skills most in demand by employers in various jobs:

• Integrity.
• Self-reliance.
• Effective communication skills.
• Openness.
• Teamwork skills.
• Creative.
• Problem solving skills.
• Critical thinking.
• Coping skills.
• Organization skills
• Desire to learn.
• Empathy.

How do I write personal and technical skills on a CV?

When writing or updating your CV, you must of course add a skills section in which you mention the abilities you possess that are related to the job you are applying for. This section is especially important when applying for jobs that require specific technical skills.
One of the easiest ways to write soft and technical skills on your resume is by reading the job description carefully, as the skills that employers want are often mentioned in the “Job Requirements,” “Desired Skills,” or “Education” section.It’s also an easy and simple trick to customize your resume for different jobs too!