Hard skills vs soft skills: what is the difference and how to develop them

Employers are increasingly mentioning them, they are being taught in trainings, they are being developed by both office employees and entrepreneurs. Hard skills and soft skills are two types of skills that are equally important and valuable. Hard skills are professional qualities that are directly related to specialized competencies. And soft skills are more about interpersonal interaction and emotional intelligence. In this article, I will explain the difference between these types of skills and tell you how to develop them simultaneously, achieving results.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are specific, measurable skills that can be learned and acquired. They are usually related to the knowledge and abilities required to perform a certain job. There are professions for which hard skills are extremely important, and their presence is required from every candidate.

Hard skills examples

1. Driving

For some employers, this criterion is very important. Especially if the position involves frequent traveling and business trips.

1. Graphic design skills

This includes the ability to use software such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator to create visual materials.

1. Foreign languages

Mastery of foreign languages also falls under the category of hard skills. Of course, the most common requirement is English. But depending on the company's geography and its specialization, other languages may also be required.

In general, hard skills are what you can prove and measure. They are often included in a resume to demonstrate to an employer that you have the necessary skills to perform your job.

Hard Skills of a Manager at Visotsky Inc.

A person who is applying for a leadership position in our company must possess specific skills and be able to motivate an entire team to work towards a common goal.

Pro in planning

One of the most important skills, without which no employee at Visotsky Inc. can do. Creating a plan is a mandatory part of the working day for both the manager and his subordinates. It is the plan that helps set priorities, identify the most important tasks, as well as roughly estimate the time required to complete them.

Able to demand

Unfortunately, if you establish too friendly relationships with subordinates, they simply stop performing tasks. Therefore, it is necessary to show persistence and constantly state that more, higher quality, better work is needed.

Coordination lover

Along with planning, coordination is an integral part of work at our company. The leader is obliged to conduct both group meetings of employees and individual coordination. The goal is to set priorities, ensure that there are no disagreements, or to inform about changes in work. Such meetings are held regularly, which helps everyone to stay informed about ongoing events.

What are soft skills?

When referring to soft skills, they often mean communication skills and empathy. Unlike hard skills, they cannot be quantitatively measured or evaluated. However, they do not become less valuable because of this. Moreover, regardless of the field, a person works in, whether it's psychology or IT, soft skills are useful everywhere. Let's consider the key skills that employers pay attention to.

The concept of soft skills first appeared in the United States in the 1960s, but it began to be widely used in the business sphere closer to the late 1990s. The demand for such skills has not diminished because specific traits and skills can significantly contribute to work, even if they are not directly related to the job position.

What falls under soft skills

Quick-learning

The fact that everything is rapidly evolving requires us to keep up with progress and constantly adapt to changes. A truly efficient employee will constantly acquire new skills and knowledge to later apply them in their work.

Self-organization

The ability to limit access to distracting factors and concentrate on work is highly valuable. Individuals who do not get distracted by their phones while performing tasks are more productive employees.

Empathy

A broad concept that includes communication with colleagues, showing understanding, the ability to put oneself in another person's shoes, love for people, and so on. Empathy is particularly important for those whose position involves constant interaction with others.

Creativity

An extremely important soft skill for creative professionals such as designers, journalists, and marketers. However, creativity is unlikely to hinder anyone else. Creativity means the ability to come up with unconventional solutions and do things that have not been done before. With such an approach, businesses will evolve but never become obsolete.

The difference between hard skills and soft skills

• Soft skills are developed through emotional intelligence, which is associated with the right hemisphere of our brain. On the contrary, hard skills require logic and are developed in the left hemisphere.
• Soft skills cannot be acquired through courses and lectures. Their development takes time, and many of them are deeply rooted in habits and mindsets that are not easily reprogrammed. For example, there might be an employee who feels uncomfortable in any social setting. They decide to change this and develop the ability to communicate with colleagues without fear. At first, it may seem like nothing is changing. It's only after several months that one can notice the absence of anxiety during conversations with others. Therefore, when developing soft skills, the key is not to give up at the first setback but to keep working on it.
• Soft skills cannot be measured. You can assess someone's English language proficiency or see their driver's license category. However, it is not easy to evaluate the level of empathy or the percentage of critical thinking.

What skills are more important?

I pay more attention to soft skills. A person may lack experience but have a strong desire to learn and work specifically in our company. On the other hand, there are situations where the candidate has an impressive education, a decent list of achievements, and positive recommendations from previous employers.

However, this person may struggle to independently generate unconventional solutions or navigate a newly emerged problem. It's all subjective, but I always prefer a sharp mind. Developing soft skills, if they are at a low level, is almost impossible. On the other hand, teaching a person to handle the software used by the company is much easier. Therefore, when hiring, we not only look at competencies but also learn how the person is accustomed to dealing with problems, what they value, and what is important to them.

Why Hard Skills and Soft Skills Should Be Developed

If you want to constantly move to a new level and achieve increasingly impressive results, development is essential. It's necessary to develop not only the skills related to your field of work, although I don't deny that they are also very important. The biggest changes start from within ourselves. Want to increase your income? Enhance your creativity, and you'll be able to see new ways to achieve that goal. Need to negotiate with suppliers? Empathy and a little time will help you with that.

Developing hard skills is not commendable; it is simply necessary for anyone who wants to remain competitive. The world is changing very quickly, and those who do not invest time in learning and continue using outdated methods will remain stagnant. In order to not only keep up but also become the best, you need to absorb as much information as possible, constantly evolve, learn new methods, and practice.

Conclusion:

The combination of hard skills and soft skills makes you a more valuable employee. As I mentioned earlier, we are unlikely to hire someone who is uncomfortable and ill-tempered. Therefore, soft skills allow you to make a good impression, negotiate favorable conditions, and always have a few backup ideas. When combined with professional skills, they turn you into a sought-after and highly-paid specialist.