What are soft skills?
Soft skills are skill sets that you have when interacting with others.
A soft skill is not hard to learn but can take years before it becomes second nature. So when interacting with people in any capacity, always remember that your demeanor counts the most.
You can see examples in the soft skills list below.
It's important to feel comfortable in any work environment or social setting, and this is possible by knowing what you're capable of handling in various situations.
What are the most sought-after soft skills?
Empathy, being able to listen attentively, physical presentation, verbal presentation. People are drawn to those who are inherently good communicators.
Empathy isn't something that's learned. Empathy is an innate quality, or it's not there at all. The ability to take in what another person is feeling despite your feelings doesn't come from experience. It comes either from having an open heart or not having an open heart - there's no grey area there either way.
In contrast, being an attentive listener is a soft skill that you can learn. You can learn to listen to someone without projecting your feelings into the mix and coming across as uncaring or unaware of the other person's situation/context.
You can use the soft skills list below to help describe yourself in descriptive essay writing, creating a resume, cover letter, and job interviews.
You can also use them when an interviewer asks you the question: "Tell me about yourself" or "How would you describe yourself?"
SOFT SKILLS LIST
INTEGRITY SKILLS
- Attentiveness
- Being Ethical
- Displaying Personal Values
- Doing What’s Right
- Focusing
- Having High Moral Standards
- Having Principles
- Honesty
- Kindness
- Trustworthiness
COURTESY SKILLS
- Apologizing
- Business Etiquette
- Decency
- Good Manners
- Graciousness
- Gratefulness
- Patience
- Phone Etiquette
- Being Polite
- Respectfulness
SOCIAL SKILLS
- Consideration
- Empathy
- Friendliness
- Humor
- Nurturing
- Open Body Language
- Personability
- Self-Control
- Showing Warmth
- Sociability
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- Choosing a Communication Medium
- Clarity of Speech and Writing
- Empathy
- Giving and Receiving Feedback
- Knowing When To Communicate
- Listening Skills
- Non-Verbal Communication
- Open-Mindedness
- Presentation Skills
- Public Speaking
FLEXIBILITY SKILLS
- Acceptance
- Adaptability
- Adjustability
- Calmness
- Focusing on Solutions
- Improvisation
- Lifelong Learning
- Teachability
- Versatility
- Willingness to Change
TEAMWORK SKILLS
- Agreeability
- Collaboration
- Conflict Resolution
- Cooperation
- Facilitation
- Helpfulness
- Influence
- Likeability
- Persuasiveness
- Supportiveness
RESPONSIBILITY SKILLS
- Accountability
- Aspiration
- Common Sense
- Conscientiousness
- Dependability
- Follow-Through
- Maturity
- Resourcefulness
- Self-Discipline
- Virtuousness
WORK ETHIC SKILLS
- Assiduousness
- Committing
- Determination
- Diligence
- Efficiency
- Industriousness
- Perseverance
- Productiveness
- Punctuality
- Self-Motivation
POSITIVE ATTITUDE SKILLS
- Confidence
- Courageousness
- Encouraging
- Enthusiasm
- Fortitude
- Happiness
- Intrepidity
- Optimism
- Pluckiness
- Spiritedness
PROFESSIONALISM SKILLS
- Conflict Management
- Consideration
- Credibility
- Leadership
- Mentoring
- Pragmatism
- Respectability
- Sophistication
MOST USED SOFT SKILLS
- Business Etiquette
- Confidence
- Effective Communication
- Emotional Intelligence
- Empathy
- Flexibility
- Good Work Ethic
- Innovation
- Creativity
- Integrity
- Leadership Skills
- Lifelong Learning
- Loyalty
- Motivation
- Positivity
- Enthusiasm
- Problem Solving
- Rapport Building
- Reliability
- Resourcefulness
- Teamwork
- Time Management
EMPLOYERS’ TOP SOFT SKILLS
- Adaptability
- Flexibility
- Conflict Resolution
- Creativity
- Dependability
- Drive
- Effective Communication
- Flexibility
- Integrity
- Leadership
- Problem-Solving
- Research
- Self-Direction
- Teamwork
- Positive Work Ethic
OTHER RELATED SOFT SKILLS
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- Active listening
- Confidence
- Conflict Resolution
- Empathy
- Negotiation
- Nonverbal Communication
- Public Speaking
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
- Analysis
- Creativity
- Critical Thinking
- Decision-Making
- Research
- Resourcefulness
- Risk Management
- Teamwork
- Troubleshooting
CREATIVITY SKILLS
- Curiosity
- Experimentation
- Innovation
- Learning From Others
- Open-Mindedness
- Taking Calculated Risks
ADAPTABILITY SKILLS
- Consistency
- Cooperation
- Enthusiasm
- Flexibility
- Growth Mindset
- Optimism
- Organization
- Patience
WORK ETHIC SKILLS
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Integrity
- Motivation
- Organization
- Perseverance
- Persistence
- Results-Oriented
- Time Management
This soft skills list should help you to describe yourself using appropriate terms and keywords to help recruiters understand why you are a valuable asset.
You can also include these key soft skills in:
- your resume
- cover letter
- and during an interview
Soft Skills List PDF