Soft Skills

Soft skills affect every aspect of your career
Soft skills affect every aspect of your career

Soft Skills make you stand out!

In a fierce fight to win a job, soft skills will give you a competitive edge. That’s why it is imperative for you to understand and to demonstrate your soft skills when you apply for a job, regardless of whether you are just starting your career or are a seasoned professional.

What are ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ skills?

Hard skills are the core competencies to fulfil the required role, from basics such as reading, writing, arithmetic and computer literacy to very specific job skills such as fixing a motor, applying a bandage or throwing a baseball.

By contrast, ‘soft’ skills are the instinctive personal attributes, personality traits, inherent social cues and acquired communication abilities that act as the social lubricant which enables you to interact successfully with others.

These ‘soft’ skills are competencies and personal attributes that equip you to ‘read’ accurately other people and social situations. Soft skills include, adaptability, communication – listening skills & ability to articulate, creativity, problem solving/critical thinking, emotional intelligence, persuasion, resilience and teamwork – collaboration.

Why employers look for soft skills

Soft skills enable you to get on with other people. Most roles require employees to engage with others, including colleagues, customers and suppliers. Teams that get along together are not only more productive but their members enjoy greater engagement, which aids their success.

During an interview, a hiring manager will firstly vet a candidate for specific ‘hard’ skills, to identify that you can perform the role. This evaluates your education, training, knowledge and experience. Once satisfied, the hiring manager then seeks to identify your cultural fit within the team by looking for transferable ‘soft’ skills that can make the difference between fitting in and failing. Knowing and selling your soft skills can set you above competing candidates who also have the job-ready ‘hard’ skills to perform the role.

How soft skills make you stand out

CCI has compiled a comprehensive portfolio of interview tools, including psychometric and other proprietary tools, to identify and assess your soft skills. To meet the growing demand from job applicants for ways to maximise their appeal, we have worked with psychologists to create the CCI Soft Skills on-line self-assessment to enable you to discover and demonstrate your soft skills to prospective employers. Completing this assessment will provide you with a personalised report that catalogues your soft skills. You can then use insights derived from the CCI Soft Skills report to:

  1. Turbocharge your LinkedIn profile
  2. Personalise your CV/resume
  3. Differentiate your cover letter when applying for a job and
  4. Highlight your strengths during a job interview

I thank you for your interest in CCI and invite you to complete the CCI Soft Skills assessment to help take your career to the next level.

Michael Boyd, Founder/Director
Discover your Soft Skills
For the cost of a coffee and the time it takes to drink it, you could discover your soft skills

What some of our customers are saying...

“I have just completed the test and the results look quite relevant in general. Great to indeed! Well done 😊“
AnastasiyaFounder & Designer - Brisbane, Australia
“Very interesting experience and thank you for expanding my perspective on this. Great work on the website and your business and hope I can add value like you did for me in the future.”
JulieResearch Scientist - Melbourne, Australia
“Thank you for this little opportunity. Some years back and again in recent times, I have been put through Clifton’s Strength Finder courses. Over a period of 12 years, my top three strengths did not change. Currently I am a Maximiser, Activator, Conectedness, Communicator and Adaptible. The results from this test and the Clifton ones are very similar in my output.”
TonyBusiness Analyst - Sydney, Australia
“Thanks for sharing this tool with me! I'm a jobseeker so I need these tools so bad. I tried and the results are quite close which makes me feel happy to be aware of what I need to improve in myself.”
ThuGraduate Student - Vancouver, Canada
“I see why this would be handy to provide some depth to new graduates in a timely manner.  Having completed a few similar type soft skills assessments, I can some links to themes previously identified, however, the nuances in the summary information are interesting - for example, in relation to resilience under pressure, I know that one of the General Managers I have reported to in Woolworths would say working under pressure is one of my strengths.”
NatashaSupply Chain - Sydney, Australia
“On the whole, really insightful and as most people see good and bad in everything apart from themselves it’s a great way to encourage a bit of self-awareness, things you can work on any positive self-image.”
MarkFinance - London, England
“I must admit the results were quite accurate and relevant by knowing my personality at work – you built a good system. 😊”
FitimLegal - Pristina, Kosovo
Previous
Next

Career Crossroads International, (CCI) is an Australian based organisation working across the globe that uses more than 20 years of talent management experience and expertise to bring people and business together. Our unique, personal, approach forms lasting strategic partnerships with our clients to deliver a bespoke talent management service that always exceeds expectations.