3 Proven Ways To Showcase Your Soft Skills In An Interview & Get That Job

By Kibet Tobias
If you are looking for a job, the job market today is so competitive that it requires you to stand out from the masses. And what set you apart from the rest are the soft skills.
Just to remind you. Soft skills are those bonus qualities that you can bring to the table. Regardless of your field, you need to possess them. They help to explain to the recruiter how well you can work with others, whether you can communicate effectively with colleagues, clients, and teams or if you can be able to solve problems when they arise.
You have probably seen a job description that requires a candidate who is a “team player” with a “strong work ethic” able to “multitask” and “work under pressure.” Most likely you have mastered how to showcase these skills in your CV.
Now, the question remains; How do you show such skills in an interview?
Here are 3 proven ways to showcase your soft skills that are sought after by most employers
1. Avoid using clichés
Almost every other candidate will say ‘I am a team player’ during an interview. You don’t need to be like them. Your aim is to be relevantly unique as much as possible.
Is there any team you were part of that achieved something of value for the company? What was your role? How did you contribute?
What about the time when team members disagreed with your ideas, what did you do? How did they react? Did you help build a “team spirit”? What was the outcome?
So instead of using such clichés, you can explain a situation briefly; state what you did to help your team to achieve a certain positive result.
By doing this, you will be able to avoid cliché in your responses.
MUST READ >>> 7 Soft Skills That Will Get You Hired & How To Learn Them
2. Show the interviewer your soft skill
You think you possess excellent communication skills?
During the interview make sure you are showing the skills you claimed to have. Be confident and calm when answering interview questions.
When the interviewers ask questions, he/she is not only seeking information from you but also seeing how exactly you communicate.
He/she will be evaluating your ability to communicate. What will your verbal and nonverbal tone and nonverbal expression say? How well do you explain yourself?
Do you listen carefully to them before responding, or you interrupt and try dominating the conversation? Do you look at them in the eye when you are speaking? What is your body language saying about you?
In order to communicate effectively, practice active listening, confidence, empathy, friendliness, nonverbal communication (do you appear to be stressed or uncomfortable?), respect, be clear and concise in your responses.
Learn to communicate effectively in different mediums by attending these training options for business and personal communications.
3. Present yourself as a problem-solver
Problem-solving is one of the most wanted skills in the professional world. If you are a problem-solver, you figure out how to get something done or find a new approach to the problem if an “old” strategy isn’t working.
How do you talk about it in a job interview? Mention experiences at a time when you were confronted with a problem and had no manager or supervisor to ask.
Explain how you approached the situation. What was your solution to the problem? Did you learn from the experience?
You can also explain a time when you had to use information for analysis to be able to make an effective recommendation.
Final thoughts…
While preparing for your next interview, read carefully through the job description to know the skills that pertain to that particular job for which you’re interviewing for. Once you have a good idea of what soft skills the job will require, be prepared and make a list of experiences you’ve had that display those qualities. If you can demonstrate these skills in a unique way to your potential employer, you will increase your chances of getting a job.
Tobias is content writer at Career Point Kenya. For any related queries contact tobias@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke or comment on the section below..