Six of the Most Valuable Soft Skills Employers Will Be Hiring for in 2019

Soft skills list that you should follow to get hired in a reputed company 

Evaluating job candidates for their soft skills rather than their technical know-how, education, or professional training has become a top priority for many, if not most, employers. A workplace learning report released by LinkedIn earlier this year found that finding and training employees with strong soft skills was the #1 mission for employers when considering talent development.

Here is the soft skills list with skills that employers will be looking for on your resume and in your job interview in 2019:

Soft Skills List

1. Emotional Intelligence

 The number one on the soft skills list is one of the most valuable, important soft skills you can bring to an employer. By being able to interact well with others and form healthy, productive work relationships, you’re bringing a significant value to your employer, and, from their perspective, this kind of soft skills is a direct indication of how successful you will be in your team and in the organization at large.

2. Collaboration

Are you able to work well in different types of teams and with different types of colleagues? Are you able to build a successful network within your professional environment that helps you to meet your goals and move the business or organization forward? Forming healthy interoffice relationships and collaborating with minimal oversight and friction is a great value add for an employer, and they will appreciate the positive contribution these soft skills will make to the workplace culture.

3. Diversity of thought

The number three on the most valuable soft skills list is being able to work with a wide variety of people. Also, one should synthesize different opinions and perspectives is imperative in any successful team. Employers want to know that you value diversity of thought and opinion, rather than only collaborating with people who echo your own perspective or experience level. To highlight this soft skill on your resume or in the job interview, find a way to communicate how well you are able to work with people who have very different (perhaps even better or richer!) experience levels than you and how you’re able to use different perspectives to reach common, shared goals.

4. Complex problem solving

Employers want fast-thinking, agile problem solvers who are able to find quick workarounds and real-time solutions to the inevitable challenges that they’ll face. To demonstrate this when you’re on the job market, be sure to communicate (either in your cover letter or in the job interview) a specific example of a time when you solved a complex problem for a previous employer.

5. Time management

There are so many technologies and tools available now to help you manage your projects and time, but true productivity and time management is a soft skill that has to come from within. The technology facilitates our productivity levels, but in the end, there’s no app for a great work ethic. In 2019, employers more than ever want to see that their employees can successfully manage multiple complex projects or tasks within a tight timeframe. This is particularly relevant in more fast-paced sectors of the life sciences field that depend on your ability to adapt, problem solve, and execute quickly and effectively.

6. Communication

Good communication skills always top the soft skills list of desirable soft skills that employers look for in the job interview, so you can expect this to be a priority in 2019 as well. It’s not a big cognitive leap to understand why being a good communicator at work is a valuable skill to have – communication informs nearly every single professional interaction you have each day and can determine its success or failure – so perhaps the best exercise for any job candidate to engage in is a kind of personal audit of your communication skills. Are you a strong communicator? What are your areas of weakness when it comes to communication? Are there certain types of conversations, topics, interactions, or even team members that you aren’t very comfortable speaking to? If you’re not sure how good of a communicator you actually are, ask a few of your closest friends or family members, or even trusted colleagues. By taking an honest look at your communication weaknesses, you can make a plan in the year ahead to find ways to have more productive interactions in the areas you’re least comfortable with.

Find employers looking for the soft skills you have on BioSpace's life sciences job board.