When hiring future workers, employers look for hard skills, which are those we learn such as mastery of software applications or accountancy procedures.

However, as we have seen in this chapter, businesses are desperate for job candidates equipped with soft skills; some recruiters value soft skills even more than hard skills.

Recall that soft skills are interpersonal characteristics, strengths, or other psychological assets a person possesses. Studies have divided soft skills into four categories:

Thinking and problem solving

Oral and written communication

Personal qualities and work ethic

Interpersonal and teamwork

Your Task: Using the preceding categories to guide you, identify your own soft skills, paying attention to those attributes you think a potential employer would value. Prepare lists of at least four items in each of the four categories. For example, as evidence of problem solving, you might list a specific workplace or student problem you recognized and solved. You will want to weave these words and phrases into cover letters and r$$sum$$s$,$ which are covered in Chapter $13.$