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Leadership
Careers
7 Soft Skills To Put On Your Resume In 2024
ByRachel Wells,Senior Contributor. Rachel Wells is a writer who covers leadership, AI, and upskilling.
Follow Author
Oct 17, 2024, 12:00pm EDT
Conceptual image of entrepreneur making the right strategy
Soft skills help you to climb the ladder and gain access to more career opportunities, where technical skills would not suffice
getty
Soft skills, more recently being redefined by the term, “power skills,” are an indispensable asset to your career growth.
While not all skills are equal, soft skills as a collective tend to hold some of the greatest value, since they are easily transferable across multiple industries, help you to make a career pivot, and enable you to retain your job and move up the ladder when technical skills alone would not be sufficient.
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are the general, essential skills that are not specific to any particular job or industry, that employers look for when hiring. They are essentially life skills, as you will need them in any situation, from everyday interactions and relationships to handling personal responsibilities, even outside of the workplace.
Why Are Soft Skills Needed?
Interesting fact: one in seven employers say that they most likely will not hire Gen Z in 2025, and 60% state that they have fired Gen Zers over the past year, due to their notorious lack of soft skills and workplace etiquette, while 90% believe that younger workers should undergo training to polish their soft skills and work ethic. The top skills mentioned by hiring managers as lacking in Gen Z included lack of ownership, poor communication skills, and lack of organization skills.
PROMOTED
This makes it an overwhelming priority for young professionals and graduates to not only include these in their resumes for future jobs, but also to work hard to ensure that they develop and actually demonstrate them.
What Soft Skills Should I Include In My Resume?
So you might be left wondering, which soft skills are the most important to put on my resume?
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Thankfully, there’s a quick and easy way to identify which soft skills are the most essential for you to include within your resume. All you need to do is to review the job description and especially the person specification section, to see what competencies they are requiring outside of the hard, or technical skills.
For example, in the sample job advert from Indeed for the role of an entry-level business intelligence analyst, the following skills were listed as must-haves for their ideal candidate:
“Required Skills:
Critical thinker with strong analytic modeling and technical skills;
Versatile and strong communication and writing skills;
Amazing attention to detail and follow-through;
Excellent organization and project management skills;
Ability to communicate effectively with clients and internal team;
Manage basic data entry
Familiarity and solid working knowledge with Google Docs, Microsoft Excel, CRM systems and Microsoft PowerPoint, and other necessary computer software.
Ability to thrive with minimal direct supervision/management”
Skilled lady drawing on ceramic bowl
Your hobbies and interests section is a great way to creatively showcase your soft skills
getty
Provided with this information, you can either put this section through a word cloud generator to extract the main themes, or you can ask ChatGPT what the core soft skills for this position are.
But even with a quick scan through, you can easily identify that some of the main soft skills necessary for this role are communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and self-motivation to work on one’s own initiative.
Given this example, how can you incorporate this into your resume?
For one, you can list strong communication skills, critical and analytical thinking, and the other soft skills mentioned, in your resume’s professional summary and also within your skills highlights section, which should be towards to the top, before your employment history section.
You can also take this a step further and elaborate on how you demonstrated these skills in each role. As an example, in your work experience section, when you mention your last role as a BI analyst intern, you could include how you collaborated with internal teams, and mention the positive results or impact of your work as a result of this collaboration, quantified as much as possible (because numbers speak louder when it comes to talking about your skills and past achievements).
And of course, if you’ve undertaken any courses on LinkedIn Learning, for example, to develop your communication skills, interpersonal skills, or any other soft skills for that matter, be sure to include this in your resume, since demonstrating your commitment to continued learning is impressive.
Finally, your resume’s interests or hobbies section can be a great way to showcase your soft skills. For instance, are you a member of a Toastmaster’s club? This tells the employer that you have worked on honing your communication skills. Are you a president at the Toastmaster’s? Then you clearly have developed leadership skills. Coordinator or other volunteer at the speaking club? That shows that you are great at relationship-building and teamwork.
7 Soft Skills To Put On Your Resume In 2024
Now that you have this framework, here are some other soft skills that you might want to consider incorporating in various ways into your resume:
Conflict resolution
Stakeholder management
Adaptability
Creative thinking skills
Leadership skills
Problem-solving
Emotional intelligence
These tend to be the skills that occur most frequently in job descriptions and/or are the most needed by employers, according to data from the survey conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2023, which analyzed the top skills in demand over the next few years.
Gradient soft skills infographic Vector illustration
Many employers have fired Gen Z due to lack of soft skills, while 90% agree that Gen Zers need soft skills training for the workplace
getty
Whatever your soft skills, find creative ways to display them all throughout your resume and always ensure, most importantly, that they are actually relevant to the role you’re applying for.
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Soft skills for a resume include communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. These are essential for workplace success in 2025.
Highlighting relevant soft skills shows your ability to collaborate, lead, and succeed in dynamic, people-focused environments.
Supporting soft skills with real examples and achievements boosts your credibility and attracts employers looking for well-rounded candidates in today’s job market.
Table of Contents
What are Soft Skills
Types of Soft Skills for Resume
Soft Skills Career Options
Industry Insights on Soft Skills
How to Include Soft Skills for Resume
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Wondering what really makes a resume stand out in 2025’s competitive job market? The answer goes beyond technical qualifications. Today, employers look for candidates who excel in soft skills like communication, adaptability, teamwork, and problem-solving. These essential qualities help you thrive in changing workplaces. They also show your ability to collaborate, lead, and grow with the industry’s demands.
In this expert-led guide, you’ll find the top soft skills every employer wants to see on a resume. You’ll also get real-world examples and practical tips for highlighting your strengths. Whether you’re a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or switching careers, this article will help you create a resume that showcases your abilities. It will help you earn trust, stand out to recruiters, and land your dream job in 2025 and beyond.
What are Soft Skills
Soft skills for a content writer include communication, creativity, adaptability, time management, attention to detail, collaboration, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, critical thinking, and active listening. These skills enhance writing quality, teamwork, and the ability to connect with diverse audiences effectively.
Types of Soft Skills for Resume
Below are the key soft skills for resume building, tailored to highlight their relevance and impact in today’s professional world:
1. Time Management
Time management refers to the ability to plan, prioritize, and execute tasks efficiently within set deadlines. It reflects how well an individual organizes their workload to meet goals without compromising quality. Including time management as part of your soft skills for resume shows recruiters your ability to handle responsibilities effectively and stay productive under pressure.
2. Communication
Communication involves the clear exchange of ideas through verbal, written, and non-verbal channels. It encompasses listening actively, expressing thoughts clearly, and adapting messages for diverse audiences. Strong communication listed under soft skills for resume indicates that you’re capable of building trust, avoiding misunderstandings, and collaborating with different stakeholders.
3. Digital Literacy
Digital literacy is the ability to effectively and safely use digital tools, platforms, and technologies. It includes skills like navigating online content, using software, and understanding data privacy. In today’s tech-driven world, it’s essential for communication, collaboration, and lifelong learning.
4. Curiosity
Curiosity drives a desire to explore, learn, and understand new things. It fosters innovation by encouraging questions and challenging the status quo. Curious individuals adapt better to change and are continuous learners.
5. Storytelling
Storytelling is the art of conveying ideas, emotions, or messages through structured narratives. It helps make complex information relatable and memorable. Strong storytelling builds connection, engagement, and influence.
6. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage your own emotions and those of others. It enhances communication, empathy, and conflict resolution. Leaders with high emotional intelligence build trust and foster healthier workplace relationships.
7. Persuasion/Influence
Persuasion is the skill of encouraging others to understand, agree with, or act upon your ideas. It relies on clear communication, credibility, and emotional appeal. Effective influencers can drive decisions and inspire change without force.
8. Adaptability
Adaptability is the capacity to adjust to new conditions, learn quickly, and remain flexible amid changes. It is crucial in dynamic work environments, especially those embracing digital transformation or hybrid models. When you mention adaptability in your soft skills for resume, it signals to employers that you’re open to growth and capable of thriving in evolving scenarios.
9. Problem-Solving
Problem-solving is the ability to identify challenges, analyze situations, and implement effective solutions. It combines critical thinking with creativity to overcome obstacles and drive results. Including problem-solving under soft skills for resume highlights your resourcefulness and strategic mindset—qualities every employer values.
10. Teamwork
Teamwork refers to working collaboratively with others toward a common objective, leveraging mutual strengths and supporting collective success. It involves cooperation, respect, and a shared sense of accountability. Featuring teamwork in your soft skills for resume reflects your ability to contribute positively to group efforts and maintain healthy workplace relationships.
11. Creativity
Creativity is the skill to think outside the box, generate new ideas, and approach problems with innovation. It’s especially important in roles involving content creation, design, product development, or marketing. Highlighting creativity as one of your soft skills for resume demonstrates your ability to add unique value and drive innovation.
12. Leadership
Leadership is the ability to inspire, guide, and influence others to achieve goals. It includes delegation, decision-making, motivation, and vision-setting. Citing leadership in your soft skills for resume helps convey your readiness to take initiative, manage teams, and foster a productive work environment.
13. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills involve the ability to interact effectively with others through empathy, diplomacy, and emotional intelligence. These skills are essential for building rapport, resolving conflicts, and maintaining workplace harmony. Showcasing interpersonal skills in your soft skills for resume signals your capacity to connect with colleagues and clients meaningfully.
14. Work Ethic
Work ethic reflects your level of commitment, reliability, discipline, and sense of responsibility in a professional setting. It speaks to how seriously you take your job and how consistently you deliver high-quality work. Adding a strong work ethic under soft skills for resume tells employers that you are dependable and goal-driven.
15. Attention to Detail
Attention to detail is the ability to focus on every aspect of a task to ensure accuracy, completeness, and quality. It minimizes errors and enhances efficiency, especially in roles requiring precision. Featuring attention to detail in your soft skills for resume indicates your thoroughness and dedication to excellence.
16. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking involves analyzing information objectively, evaluating different perspectives, and making sound judgments. It’s essential for roles that require strategic planning and troubleshooting. Listing critical thinking under your soft skills for resume demonstrates that you’re a thoughtful, data-driven, and solution-oriented candidate.
17. Decision-Making
Decision-making is the ability to evaluate options and choose the most effective course of action quickly and confidently. This skill is vital for leadership, project management, and high-pressure situations. Featuring decision-making in your soft skills for resume reflects your competence in taking responsibility and guiding outcomes.
18. Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is the ability to mediate and resolve disputes in a constructive and respectful manner. It helps maintain harmony and prevent workplace disruptions. By showcasing this in your soft skills for resume, you signal your maturity and capability in fostering positive team dynamics.
19. Networking Skills
Networking skills refer to the ability to build and maintain professional relationships that can support mutual growth. These are vital in business development, sales, marketing, and leadership roles. Mentioning networking as part of your soft skills for resume indicates your proactive approach to collaboration and professional development.
20. Positive Attitude
A positive attitude reflects your optimistic and can-do approach toward challenges and teamwork. It contributes to a healthy work culture and motivates those around you. Adding a positive attitude under soft skills for resume shows employers you’re resilient and bring uplifting energy to the workplace.
21. Stress Management
Stress management involves maintaining composure and productivity under pressure. It reflects emotional resilience and effective coping strategies. Highlighting stress management among your soft skills for resume assures employers of your ability to handle high workloads and tight deadlines without burnout.
22. Learning Agility
Learning agility is the willingness and ability to quickly adapt to new tools, roles, or information. In today’s tech-driven economy, this is a prized trait. Emphasizing learning agility in your soft skills for resume shows you’re future-ready and committed to continuous improvement.
23. Cultural Awareness
Cultural awareness refers to understanding and respecting diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and practices. It’s especially important in global teams and inclusive workplaces. Including cultural awareness as part of your soft skills for resume underscores your ability to work well in diverse, multicultural settings.
soft skills for resume
Soft Skills Career Options
1. Customer Service Representative
A customer service role demands patience, empathy, and effective communication. Professionals in this field must resolve issues calmly and ensure customer satisfaction. Including communication and problem-solving in your soft skills for resume makes you a strong candidate for such roles, especially in sectors like retail, telecom, and e-commerce.
2. Human Resources Specialist
HR roles require excellent interpersonal skills, active listening, and conflict resolution. As an HR professional, you interact with diverse employees, mediate disputes, and manage recruitment. Adding empathy, confidentiality, and communication under soft skills for resume for freshers can strongly appeal to hiring managers in this domain.
3. Sales Executive
Sales is all about persuasion, relationship-building, and strategic thinking. Professionals in this area must be persuasive yet empathetic to understand clients’ needs. Highlighting negotiation, people’s skills, and adaptability in your soft skills for resume is essential for landing a role in sales.
4. Public Relations Executive
PR professionals are responsible for managing a brand’s image and handling media communication. This career demands creativity, communication, and stress management. Featuring these under soft skills for resume for freshers makes your profile more appealing, even if you lack experience.
5. Event Coordinator
Event coordinators handle logistics, communication with vendors, and client coordination. Time management, multitasking, and leadership are essential soft skills in this role. Including them in your soft skills for resume can help position you as a reliable planner and executor.
6. Content Writer or Editor
While writing is a technical skill, content professionals also require creativity, time management, and collaboration. Including adaptability, attention to detail, and teamwork in your soft skills for resume for freshers gives you an edge, especially when working in editorial teams or content agencies.
7. Teacher or Trainer
Education and training roles rely heavily on communication, patience, and leadership. Teachers must engage students, resolve misunderstandings, and inspire learning. Emphasizing these qualities in soft skills for resume will make you stand out in educational institutions and training centers.
8. Healthcare Assistant or Support Staff
Roles in healthcare support require compassion, attention to detail, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. Whether working in hospitals or elderly care, listing empathy, communication, and stress management as soft skills for resume for freshers is highly beneficial.
9. Digital Marketing Executive
Digital marketers must coordinate campaigns, analyze audience behavior, and work across departments. Creativity, collaboration, and adaptability are vital here. If you’re a newcomer, showcasing these under soft skills for resume for freshers proves you’re a valuable team player ready to learn and grow.
10. Administrative Assistant
This role involves scheduling, documentation, and managing communication between departments. Time management, attention to detail, and discretion are essential. Adding these competencies in your soft skills for resume demonstrates your readiness to support organizational functions efficiently.
11. Graphic Designer
Graphic designers need more than just technical skills; they must communicate ideas visually and collaborate with teams or clients. Creativity, adaptability, time management, and receptiveness to feedback are crucial. Showcasing these under soft skills for resume can help you land freelance or agency roles, even with a basic portfolio.
12. UI/UX Designer
UI/UX design focuses on user experience, requiring empathy, problem-solving, and attention to detail. These designers often collaborate with developers, marketers, and stakeholders. Including interpersonal skills and creative thinking as part of your soft skills for resume for freshers shows you can craft intuitive, user-friendly digital products.
13. Web Developer
While coding is a hard skill, successful web developers also need teamwork, communication, and adaptability. Whether you’re debugging a complex issue or working within Agile teams, soft skills make a big difference. Including collaboration, time management, and problem-solving in your soft skills for resume will strengthen your job applications.
14. Frontend Developer
Frontend developers bridge design and functionality, working closely with UI/UX teams. They need to be detail-oriented, communicative, and proactive. Listing soft skills such as attention to detail and teamwork under soft skills for resume for freshers reflects your readiness to build visually appealing and responsive user interfaces.
15. Business Analyst
Business analysts translate data into actionable insights. This role demands critical thinking, communication, and decision-making. Highlighting data storytelling, adaptability, and problem-solving as soft skills for resume helps employers trust your ability to turn numbers into strategic direction.
Read More
:
Importance of Soft Skills: 5 Powerful Ways to Succeed
soft skills for resume
Industry Insights on Soft Skills
1. Recruiter Preferences Back Soft Skills
According to a Jobscan survey, 49.6% of recruiters value soft skills and hard skills equally, emphasizing their joint importance in hiring decisions. An Indeed employer study also lists communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence as the top five soft skills employers seek today.
2. Industry Leaders Endorse Core Soft Skills
Firms like EY (Ernst & Young) stress curiosity, adaptability, and influence as essential traits for the future workforce. These skills help professionals navigate ambiguity, drive innovation, and lead change in dynamic business environments.
3. Soft Skills Are the New Power Skills
In rapidly evolving industries, soft skills like digital literacy, storytelling, and persuasion are seen as competitive differentiators. As automation takes over routine tasks, human-centric skills remain crucial for roles involving leadership, creativity, and customer interaction.
4. Soft Skills in Hybrid/Remote Work
a. Communication & Emotional Intelligence Drive Team Cohesion
In remote setups, clear communication and empathy are crucial to bridge the physical distance. For example, TCS and Infosys emphasize emotional intelligence training for managers leading distributed teams across India and abroad.
b. Leadership & Influence Enable Virtual Team Management
Soft skills like persuasion and virtual leadership help in motivating and aligning remote teams. Indian startups like Zoho and Freshworks successfully run hybrid teams by empowering leaders to influence through trust and clarity, not micromanagement.
2. Soft Skills in AI-Driven Work Environments
a. Curiosity & Adaptability Enable Human-AI Collaboration
As AI automates tasks, employees must adapt quickly and stay curious about new tools and ways of working. Firms like Wipro and HCL actively train staff to blend technical upskilling with soft skills to stay AI-relevant.
b. Storytelling & Critical Thinking Make AI Insights Actionable
Data and AI generate insights, but storytelling helps translate them into decisions. In India’s booming analytics hubs like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, business analysts are valued for their ability to narrate data with context and clarity.
How to Include Soft Skills for Resume
1. Create a “Key Skills” Section
Include a dedicated section titled Key Skills, Core Competencies, or Professional Skills near the top or side of your resume. This area should highlight a mix of soft and hard skills relevant to the role.
Example:
Key Skills:
Time Management
Effective Communication
Leadership and Team Coordination
Adaptability
Problem-Solving
Attention to Detail
Conflict Resolution
2. Weave Soft Skills into Your Work Experience
Don’t just list soft skills—show them in action. Under each job or internship experience, or even senior project ideas, describe how you used soft skills to achieve results or solve problems.
Example:
Marketing Intern, ABC Agency
Coordinated with a cross-functional team of 5 members, demonstrating strong teamwork and interpersonal skills
Managed social media calendar effectively, showing excellent time management and attention to detail
Responded to client feedback promptly with empathy and communication skills
3. Customize Soft Skills to Match the Job Description
Read the job posting carefully and match the soft skills they value most. This is especially helpful when writing soft skills for resume for freshers who may have limited work experience.
Example (for a customer support role):
Soft Skills for Resume for Freshers:
Active Listening
Patience and Empathy
Clear Communication
Stress Management
Adaptability in fast-paced environments
4. Use Soft Skills in Your Summary Statement
The resume summary or objective section is a great place to introduce your strongest soft skills in a natural, narrative form.
Example:
Resume Summary:
“Detail-oriented and adaptable graduate with excellent communication and problem-solving skills, seeking to contribute to a dynamic team. Known for strong work ethic and ability to thrive in collaborative environments.”
5. Quantify Achievements When Possible
Support your soft skills with measurable results to make them more credible.
Example:
“Led a team of 4 in organizing a college fest, improving event attendance by 30%—demonstrating strong leadership and time management skills.”
soft skills for resume
Conclusion
Showcasing strong soft skills on your resume is crucial in today’s changing job market. By highlighting qualities like communication, adaptability, and teamwork, you show employers that you’re not only technically skilled but also ready to succeed in collaborative and fast-paced environments.
The most successful candidates support their soft skills with real examples and a willingness to grow. Regularly seek feedback, focus on personal development, and customize your resume for each opportunity. With the right approach, you can build trust with recruiters, stand out from the competition, and open up exciting career opportunities in 2025 and beyond.
Evaluate numerous career choices to choose the right career path for yourself. Dive into our guide on Career Advice.
Get Paid for Your Knowledge
Read More: Top Soft Skills 2025
What Soft Skills Recruiters are Really Looking For
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
What are the 7 major soft skills?
What do you put in soft skills in a resume?
What are the top 5 soft skills?
What are the 8 top soft skills?
What are the 5 hard skills and soft skills?
What are examples of soft skills?
Authored by, Gagandeep Khokhar
Career Guidance Expert
Gagandeep is a content writer and strategist focused on creating high-performing, SEO-driven content that bridges the gap between learners and institutions. He crafts compelling narratives across blogs, landing pages, and email campaigns to drive engagement and build trust.
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Soft skills for a resume include communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. These are essential for workplace success in 2025.
Highlighting relevant soft skills shows your ability to collaborate, lead, and succeed in dynamic, people-focused environments.
Supporting soft skills with real examples and achievements boosts your credibility and attracts employers looking for well-rounded candidates in today’s job market.
Table of Contents
What are Soft Skills
Types of Soft Skills for Resume
Soft Skills Career Options
Industry Insights on Soft Skills
How to Include Soft Skills for Resume
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Wondering what really makes a resume stand out in 2025’s competitive job market? The answer goes beyond technical qualifications. Today, employers look for candidates who excel in soft skills like communication, adaptability, teamwork, and problem-solving. These essential qualities help you thrive in changing workplaces. They also show your ability to collaborate, lead, and grow with the industry’s demands.
In this expert-led guide, you’ll find the top soft skills every employer wants to see on a resume. You’ll also get real-world examples and practical tips for highlighting your strengths. Whether you’re a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or switching careers, this article will help you create a resume that showcases your abilities. It will help you earn trust, stand out to recruiters, and land your dream job in 2025 and beyond.
What are Soft Skills
Soft skills for a content writer include communication, creativity, adaptability, time management, attention to detail, collaboration, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, critical thinking, and active listening. These skills enhance writing quality, teamwork, and the ability to connect with diverse audiences effectively.
Types of Soft Skills for Resume
Below are the key soft skills for resume building, tailored to highlight their relevance and impact in today’s professional world:
1. Time Management
Time management refers to the ability to plan, prioritize, and execute tasks efficiently within set deadlines. It reflects how well an individual organizes their workload to meet goals without compromising quality. Including time management as part of your soft skills for resume shows recruiters your ability to handle responsibilities effectively and stay productive under pressure.
2. Communication
Communication involves the clear exchange of ideas through verbal, written, and non-verbal channels. It encompasses listening actively, expressing thoughts clearly, and adapting messages for diverse audiences. Strong communication listed under soft skills for resume indicates that you’re capable of building trust, avoiding misunderstandings, and collaborating with different stakeholders.
3. Digital Literacy
Digital literacy is the ability to effectively and safely use digital tools, platforms, and technologies. It includes skills like navigating online content, using software, and understanding data privacy. In today’s tech-driven world, it’s essential for communication, collaboration, and lifelong learning.
4. Curiosity
Curiosity drives a desire to explore, learn, and understand new things. It fosters innovation by encouraging questions and challenging the status quo. Curious individuals adapt better to change and are continuous learners.
5. Storytelling
Storytelling is the art of conveying ideas, emotions, or messages through structured narratives. It helps make complex information relatable and memorable. Strong storytelling builds connection, engagement, and influence.
6. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage your own emotions and those of others. It enhances communication, empathy, and conflict resolution. Leaders with high emotional intelligence build trust and foster healthier workplace relationships.
7. Persuasion/Influence
Persuasion is the skill of encouraging others to understand, agree with, or act upon your ideas. It relies on clear communication, credibility, and emotional appeal. Effective influencers can drive decisions and inspire change without force.
8. Adaptability
Adaptability is the capacity to adjust to new conditions, learn quickly, and remain flexible amid changes. It is crucial in dynamic work environments, especially those embracing digital transformation or hybrid models. When you mention adaptability in your soft skills for resume, it signals to employers that you’re open to growth and capable of thriving in evolving scenarios.
9. Problem-Solving
Problem-solving is the ability to identify challenges, analyze situations, and implement effective solutions. It combines critical thinking with creativity to overcome obstacles and drive results. Including problem-solving under soft skills for resume highlights your resourcefulness and strategic mindset—qualities every employer values.
10. Teamwork
Teamwork refers to working collaboratively with others toward a common objective, leveraging mutual strengths and supporting collective success. It involves cooperation, respect, and a shared sense of accountability. Featuring teamwork in your soft skills for resume reflects your ability to contribute positively to group efforts and maintain healthy workplace relationships.
11. Creativity
Creativity is the skill to think outside the box, generate new ideas, and approach problems with innovation. It’s especially important in roles involving content creation, design, product development, or marketing. Highlighting creativity as one of your soft skills for resume demonstrates your ability to add unique value and drive innovation.
12. Leadership
Leadership is the ability to inspire, guide, and influence others to achieve goals. It includes delegation, decision-making, motivation, and vision-setting. Citing leadership in your soft skills for resume helps convey your readiness to take initiative, manage teams, and foster a productive work environment.
13. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills involve the ability to interact effectively with others through empathy, diplomacy, and emotional intelligence. These skills are essential for building rapport, resolving conflicts, and maintaining workplace harmony. Showcasing interpersonal skills in your soft skills for resume signals your capacity to connect with colleagues and clients meaningfully.
14. Work Ethic
Work ethic reflects your level of commitment, reliability, discipline, and sense of responsibility in a professional setting. It speaks to how seriously you take your job and how consistently you deliver high-quality work. Adding a strong work ethic under soft skills for resume tells employers that you are dependable and goal-driven.
15. Attention to Detail
Attention to detail is the ability to focus on every aspect of a task to ensure accuracy, completeness, and quality. It minimizes errors and enhances efficiency, especially in roles requiring precision. Featuring attention to detail in your soft skills for resume indicates your thoroughness and dedication to excellence.
16. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking involves analyzing information objectively, evaluating different perspectives, and making sound judgments. It’s essential for roles that require strategic planning and troubleshooting. Listing critical thinking under your soft skills for resume demonstrates that you’re a thoughtful, data-driven, and solution-oriented candidate.
17. Decision-Making
Decision-making is the ability to evaluate options and choose the most effective course of action quickly and confidently. This skill is vital for leadership, project management, and high-pressure situations. Featuring decision-making in your soft skills for resume reflects your competence in taking responsibility and guiding outcomes.
18. Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is the ability to mediate and resolve disputes in a constructive and respectful manner. It helps maintain harmony and prevent workplace disruptions. By showcasing this in your soft skills for resume, you signal your maturity and capability in fostering positive team dynamics.
19. Networking Skills
Networking skills refer to the ability to build and maintain professional relationships that can support mutual growth. These are vital in business development, sales, marketing, and leadership roles. Mentioning networking as part of your soft skills for resume indicates your proactive approach to collaboration and professional development.
20. Positive Attitude
A positive attitude reflects your optimistic and can-do approach toward challenges and teamwork. It contributes to a healthy work culture and motivates those around you. Adding a positive attitude under soft skills for resume shows employers you’re resilient and bring uplifting energy to the workplace.
21. Stress Management
Stress management involves maintaining composure and productivity under pressure. It reflects emotional resilience and effective coping strategies. Highlighting stress management among your soft skills for resume assures employers of your ability to handle high workloads and tight deadlines without burnout.
22. Learning Agility
Learning agility is the willingness and ability to quickly adapt to new tools, roles, or information. In today’s tech-driven economy, this is a prized trait. Emphasizing learning agility in your soft skills for resume shows you’re future-ready and committed to continuous improvement.
23. Cultural Awareness
Cultural awareness refers to understanding and respecting diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and practices. It’s especially important in global teams and inclusive workplaces. Including cultural awareness as part of your soft skills for resume underscores your ability to work well in diverse, multicultural settings.
soft skills for resume
Soft Skills Career Options
1. Customer Service Representative
A customer service role demands patience, empathy, and effective communication. Professionals in this field must resolve issues calmly and ensure customer satisfaction. Including communication and problem-solving in your soft skills for resume makes you a strong candidate for such roles, especially in sectors like retail, telecom, and e-commerce.
2. Human Resources Specialist
HR roles require excellent interpersonal skills, active listening, and conflict resolution. As an HR professional, you interact with diverse employees, mediate disputes, and manage recruitment. Adding empathy, confidentiality, and communication under soft skills for resume for freshers can strongly appeal to hiring managers in this domain.
3. Sales Executive
Sales is all about persuasion, relationship-building, and strategic thinking. Professionals in this area must be persuasive yet empathetic to understand clients’ needs. Highlighting negotiation, people’s skills, and adaptability in your soft skills for resume is essential for landing a role in sales.
4. Public Relations Executive
PR professionals are responsible for managing a brand’s image and handling media communication. This career demands creativity, communication, and stress management. Featuring these under soft skills for resume for freshers makes your profile more appealing, even if you lack experience.
5. Event Coordinator
Event coordinators handle logistics, communication with vendors, and client coordination. Time management, multitasking, and leadership are essential soft skills in this role. Including them in your soft skills for resume can help position you as a reliable planner and executor.
6. Content Writer or Editor
While writing is a technical skill, content professionals also require creativity, time management, and collaboration. Including adaptability, attention to detail, and teamwork in your soft skills for resume for freshers gives you an edge, especially when working in editorial teams or content agencies.
7. Teacher or Trainer
Education and training roles rely heavily on communication, patience, and leadership. Teachers must engage students, resolve misunderstandings, and inspire learning. Emphasizing these qualities in soft skills for resume will make you stand out in educational institutions and training centers.
8. Healthcare Assistant or Support Staff
Roles in healthcare support require compassion, attention to detail, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. Whether working in hospitals or elderly care, listing empathy, communication, and stress management as soft skills for resume for freshers is highly beneficial.
9. Digital Marketing Executive
Digital marketers must coordinate campaigns, analyze audience behavior, and work across departments. Creativity, collaboration, and adaptability are vital here. If you’re a newcomer, showcasing these under soft skills for resume for freshers proves you’re a valuable team player ready to learn and grow.
10. Administrative Assistant
This role involves scheduling, documentation, and managing communication between departments. Time management, attention to detail, and discretion are essential. Adding these competencies in your soft skills for resume demonstrates your readiness to support organizational functions efficiently.
11. Graphic Designer
Graphic designers need more than just technical skills; they must communicate ideas visually and collaborate with teams or clients. Creativity, adaptability, time management, and receptiveness to feedback are crucial. Showcasing these under soft skills for resume can help you land freelance or agency roles, even with a basic portfolio.
12. UI/UX Designer
UI/UX design focuses on user experience, requiring empathy, problem-solving, and attention to detail. These designers often collaborate with developers, marketers, and stakeholders. Including interpersonal skills and creative thinking as part of your soft skills for resume for freshers shows you can craft intuitive, user-friendly digital products.
13. Web Developer
While coding is a hard skill, successful web developers also need teamwork, communication, and adaptability. Whether you’re debugging a complex issue or working within Agile teams, soft skills make a big difference. Including collaboration, time management, and problem-solving in your soft skills for resume will strengthen your job applications.
14. Frontend Developer
Frontend developers bridge design and functionality, working closely with UI/UX teams. They need to be detail-oriented, communicative, and proactive. Listing soft skills such as attention to detail and teamwork under soft skills for resume for freshers reflects your readiness to build visually appealing and responsive user interfaces.
15. Business Analyst
Business analysts translate data into actionable insights. This role demands critical thinking, communication, and decision-making. Highlighting data storytelling, adaptability, and problem-solving as soft skills for resume helps employers trust your ability to turn numbers into strategic direction.
Read More
:
Importance of Soft Skills: 5 Powerful Ways to Succeed
soft skills for resume
Industry Insights on Soft Skills
1. Recruiter Preferences Back Soft Skills
According to a Jobscan survey, 49.6% of recruiters value soft skills and hard skills equally, emphasizing their joint importance in hiring decisions. An Indeed employer study also lists communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence as the top five soft skills employers seek today.
2. Industry Leaders Endorse Core Soft Skills
Firms like EY (Ernst & Young) stress curiosity, adaptability, and influence as essential traits for the future workforce. These skills help professionals navigate ambiguity, drive innovation, and lead change in dynamic business environments.
3. Soft Skills Are the New Power Skills
In rapidly evolving industries, soft skills like digital literacy, storytelling, and persuasion are seen as competitive differentiators. As automation takes over routine tasks, human-centric skills remain crucial for roles involving leadership, creativity, and customer interaction.
4. Soft Skills in Hybrid/Remote Work
a. Communication & Emotional Intelligence Drive Team Cohesion
In remote setups, clear communication and empathy are crucial to bridge the physical distance. For example, TCS and Infosys emphasize emotional intelligence training for managers leading distributed teams across India and abroad.
b. Leadership & Influence Enable Virtual Team Management
Soft skills like persuasion and virtual leadership help in motivating and aligning remote teams. Indian startups like Zoho and Freshworks successfully run hybrid teams by empowering leaders to influence through trust and clarity, not micromanagement.
2. Soft Skills in AI-Driven Work Environments
a. Curiosity & Adaptability Enable Human-AI Collaboration
As AI automates tasks, employees must adapt quickly and stay curious about new tools and ways of working. Firms like Wipro and HCL actively train staff to blend technical upskilling with soft skills to stay AI-relevant.
b. Storytelling & Critical Thinking Make AI Insights Actionable
Data and AI generate insights, but storytelling helps translate them into decisions. In India’s booming analytics hubs like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, business analysts are valued for their ability to narrate data with context and clarity.
How to Include Soft Skills for Resume
1. Create a “Key Skills” Section
Include a dedicated section titled Key Skills, Core Competencies, or Professional Skills near the top or side of your resume. This area should highlight a mix of soft and hard skills relevant to the role.
Example:
Key Skills:
Time Management
Effective Communication
Leadership and Team Coordination
Adaptability
Problem-Solving
Attention to Detail
Conflict Resolution
2. Weave Soft Skills into Your Work Experience
Don’t just list soft skills—show them in action. Under each job or internship experience, or even senior project ideas, describe how you used soft skills to achieve results or solve problems.
Example:
Marketing Intern, ABC Agency
Coordinated with a cross-functional team of 5 members, demonstrating strong teamwork and interpersonal skills
Managed social media calendar effectively, showing excellent time management and attention to detail
Responded to client feedback promptly with empathy and communication skills
3. Customize Soft Skills to Match the Job Description
Read the job posting carefully and match the soft skills they value most. This is especially helpful when writing soft skills for resume for freshers who may have limited work experience.
Example (for a customer support role):
Soft Skills for Resume for Freshers:
Active Listening
Patience and Empathy
Clear Communication
Stress Management
Adaptability in fast-paced environments
4. Use Soft Skills in Your Summary Statement
The resume summary or objective section is a great place to introduce your strongest soft skills in a natural, narrative form.
Example:
Resume Summary:
“Detail-oriented and adaptable graduate with excellent communication and problem-solving skills, seeking to contribute to a dynamic team. Known for strong work ethic and ability to thrive in collaborative environments.”
5. Quantify Achievements When Possible
Support your soft skills with measurable results to make them more credible.
Example:
“Led a team of 4 in organizing a college fest, improving event attendance by 30%—demonstrating strong leadership and time management skills.”
soft skills for resume
Conclusion
Showcasing strong soft skills on your resume is crucial in today’s changing job market. By highlighting qualities like communication, adaptability, and teamwork, you show employers that you’re not only technically skilled but also ready to succeed in collaborative and fast-paced environments.
The most successful candidates support their soft skills with real examples and a willingness to grow. Regularly seek feedback, focus on personal development, and customize your resume for each opportunity. With the right approach, you can build trust with recruiters, stand out from the competition, and open up exciting career opportunities in 2025 and beyond.
Evaluate numerous career choices to choose the right career path for yourself. Dive into our guide on Career Advice.
Get Paid for Your Knowledge
Read More: Top Soft Skills 2025
What Soft Skills Recruiters are Really Looking For
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
What are the 7 major soft skills?
What do you put in soft skills in a resume?
What are the top 5 soft skills?
What are the 8 top soft skills?
What are the 5 hard skills and soft skills?
What are examples of soft skills?
Authored by, Gagandeep Khokhar
Career Guidance Expert
Gagandeep is a content writer and strategist focused on creating high-performing, SEO-driven content that bridges the gap between learners and institutions. He crafts compelling narratives across blogs, landing pages, and email campaigns to drive engagement and build trust.
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n this post, I want to talk about skills that will make you much more effective at running a WordPress-based website. These days, websites are super important assets for most businesses and running a successful WordPress site requires a lot of different abilities. That’s because it involves so many aspects, from site maintenance over optimization to marketing.
When running a site by yourself or with a very small team, you have to wear a lot of different hats to make things happen. It’s why huge publications have teams that each concentrate on different aspects of site management. If you are not at that point, you need to prioritize learning what is most important.
In order to help you do that, below you find a long list of essential WordPress skills. They are ordered by beginner, intermediate, and expert-level skills and are based on my own experience of working with WordPress for 10+ years. A lot of them come from mistakes that I have made myself and/or seen others and my clients make.
These are valuable skills for both people who run their own websites and developers/freelancers who earn their money getting hired by others to do so. If you work through them one by one, or even just learn a handful, it will make you much more effective at doing either. In turn, it will also make you better at running your business. So, without further ado, here’s the ultimate list of skills every WordPress user should aspire to.
WordPress Beginner Skills – The Absolute Basics
Let’s start off with the essentials. Everything below is stuff that forms the absolute basis of skills you should acquire to hope to run a successful WordPress site.
1. Basic Hosting Knowledge
If you want to create a website with WordPress, you need to install it on a server. Thankfully, nowadays most reputable hosting providers offer easy one-click installations, so you don’t have to do it manually anymore (although, the manual installation also only takes 5 minutes).
wordpress installation
Yet, because the server is the home of your website, you need to at least have a basic understanding of it. In particular, should learn how to:
create an FTP account and access your server with an FTP client (I recommend FileZilla)
change the nameserver settings to map a domain to your server
use your hosting provider’s back end so you can do basic things like change your server’s PHP version or create email addresses and inboxes
access your websites MySQL database in case you need to make manual changes there (incidentally, knowing how to back it up first is another important skill)
add an SSL certificate to your website (many hosting providers have one-click solutions for that, too)
Knowing these kinds of basics will put you into a much better position at running your website. It will also be helpful in troubleshooting if something is not working the way it is supposed to. Trust me, it is much better to be prepared than having to figure these things out on the fly when something has already gone wrong.
2. Getting to Know the WordPress User Interface
This one is a bit of a no-brainer, you would think. However, it’s still something that a lot of beginners don’t seem to bother with. If you want to use WordPress as an effective tool to build and run your site, you need to know how to work with it properly. After all, a tool is only as good as your skill in wielding it.
wordpress user interface
For that reason, your first task in becoming a WordPress professional is to get familiar with the platform itself. Yes, you will always learn while doing, however, I highly recommend that you approach this part in a more formal way.
When I first started out using WordPress, I figured everything out as I went along. It took a while to get competent, which is to be expected. However, looking back, I also made a lot of really bad mistakes in the process.
Something that really opened my eyes to that was when I went through a WordPress beginner video course. It not only opened up a lot of new functions that I had no idea even existed but also showed me that I was doing a whole lot of things that seriously diminished the quality and functionality of my website.
For that reason, if I could go back, I would go through the video course right away in order to get a base familiarity with WordPress from the start. And I highly recommend you do the same thing.
As for which course to go for, I’ve had a really good experience with Morten Rand Hendriksen’s WordPress Essential Training. It walks you through the entire user interface so that you end up knowing exactly where to do what.
3. Installing WordPress Themes and Plugins
While this is part of the “getting to know the WordPress user interface” skills, it deserves its own mention because themes and plugins have such a huge influence on the look and functionality of your site.
wordpress themes menu
Themes completely control and change the design while plugins can add new features and change how WordPress works. In the case of page builder plugins like Elementor, etc., the changes can be quite drastic. Therefore, it’s not only important that you know the steps on how to install and activate WordPress extensions but also how to test if they are right for your site.
Are there any conflicts with other themes or plugins on your site? Does the new extension produce errors or maybe even make your site completely unusable?
Does it have all the features that are important to you? On the other hand, is there maybe too much bloat and a lot of features you don’t need?
How is the user experience? Is the theme or plugin easy and pleasant to use? Does it have a nice user interface or does it make things overly complicated? Is it suitable for people of your skill level?
How does the extension affect your site’s performance? Does it make it noticeably slower either in the back end or front end (or, worse, both)?
Do you really need the theme or plugin? Can you achieve what you are looking for from it in a different, leaner way?
Knowing how to decide whether to use a theme or plugin is an important skill that will pay dividends in the quality of your WordPress site. It’s better to find out about all of the above before bringing an extension on board on your live site. How can you do so? That’s what gets us to the next point.
4. Setting Up an Offline Website
A sin that many beginner WordPress users are guilty of (me included) is so-called cowboy coding. That means, troubleshooting problems, making changes to design element, or even simply installing plugins or themes on a live website without testing them beforehand.
All of the above is a big no-no.
In the best case scenario, it simply makes you look unprofessional because users will see your failed attempts at changing some CSS markup or get a PHP error message at the top of the page.
In the worst case, it makes your whole site inaccessible for all traffic and leaves you scrambling trying to deactivate that faulty plugin or googling solutions for a problem you just created (yep, guilty of that, too).
wordpress error in browser
To avoid that, I highly recommend that you add the ability to create a local server to your WordPress skill set. This allows you to install WordPress on your laptop or desktop computer just like you would on a web server. Doing so gives you an environment in which can make as many mistakes as you want without anyone but you ever seeing them. Here’s what you can do in a local environment:
Modify WordPress functionality
Test plugins, themes, and updates
Customize your theme
Try out and modify functions
Practice CSS
And a lot more…
A local install also makes you independent of an Internet connection if you want to work on site changes or write in the WordPress editor on the go (which is what I often use it for). Plus, there are so many free solutions Skip to content
Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
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Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Newslettter art
I would like to receive tips and information on how to write a resume and cover letter and other information on Novorésumé’s products on email. Read more about our products here.
You can change this at any time on the Account Page.
Email
Our Vision is to
Fight Galactic Discontent
contact@novoresume.com
Bredgade 45B, 1260 København
Novorésumé
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Cover Letter Maker
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How to Write a Cover Letter
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Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches
Copyright 2026 Novorésumé ApS.
All Rights Reserved.
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To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.
Skip to content
Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Newslettter art
I would like to receive tips and information on how to write a resume and cover letter and other information on Novorésumé’s products on email. Read more about our products here.
You can change this at any time on the Account Page.
Email
Our Vision is to
Fight Galactic Discontent
contact@novoresume.com
Bredgade 45B, 1260 København
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Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches
Copyright 2026 Novorésumé ApS.
All Rights Reserved.
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To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.
Skip to content
Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Newslettter art
I would like to receive tips and information on how to write a resume and cover letter and other information on Novorésumé’s products on email. Read more about our products here.
You can change this at any time on the Account Page.
Email
Our Vision is to
Fight Galactic Discontent
contact@novoresume.com
Bredgade 45B, 1260 København
Novorésumé
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Cover Letter Maker
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Learn
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How to Write a Cover Letter
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Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) – Andrei Kurtuy
Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches
Copyright 2026 Novorésumé ApS.
All Rights Reserved.
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To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.
Skip to content
Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Newslettter art
I would like to receive tips and information on how to write a resume and cover letter and other information on Novorésumé’s products on email. Read more about our products here.
You can change this at any time on the Account Page.
Email
Our Vision is to
Fight Galactic Discontent
contact@novoresume.com
Bredgade 45B, 1260 København
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Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches
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All Rights Reserved.
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To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.
Skip to content
Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
Related posts
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Newslettter art
I would like to receive tips and information on how to write a resume and cover letter and other information on Novorésumé’s products on email. Read more about our products here.
You can change this at any time on the Account Page.
Email
Our Vision is to
Fight Galactic Discontent
contact@novoresume.com
Bredgade 45B, 1260 København
Novorésumé
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CV Maker
Cover Letter Maker
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How to Write a Cover Letter
Resume Examples
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Other
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Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) – Andrei Kurtuy
Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches
Copyright 2026 Novorésumé ApS.
All Rights Reserved.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Skip to content
Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
Related posts
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Newslettter art
I would like to receive tips and information on how to write a resume and cover letter and other information on Novorésumé’s products on email. Read more about our products here.
You can change this at any time on the Account Page.
Email
Our Vision is to
Fight Galactic Discontent
contact@novoresume.com
Bredgade 45B, 1260 København
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Updated on February 25, 2026
Top Soft Skills for 2026 [90+ Examples for Your Resume]
Soft skills are vital no matter where you work. But where should you focus to make your career thrive? This article is here to answer that & more!
authors 56cfc5d0 9f09 11e9 89a0
Written by Andrei Kurtuy
Build My Resume
Get Your Resume Analysis
soft skills
our resumes got people hired at
Contents
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
#1. Time Management
#2. Communication
#3. Adaptability
#4. Problem-solving
#5. Teamwork
#6. Creativity
#7. Leadership
#8. Interpersonal Skills
#9. Work Ethic
#10. Attention to Detail
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
#1. Customer Service
#2. Healthcare
#3. Digital Marketing
#4. Management
#5. Education
#6. Sales
#7. Design
#8. Accounting
#9. Business Analytics
#10. Web Development
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Soft Skills FAQ
Key Takeaways
Soft skills are core skills sought after in every profession.
Whether you’re a server in a restaurant or a big-shot CEO, your soft skills will be as decisive for your success as your technical know-how.
Motivation and time management, leadership, and open-mindedness – all of those are widely sought-after soft skills.
And these are just a few out of many!
But you might be wondering which soft skills are relevant for YOUR career? And which ones should you focus on developing?
This is where this article comes in!
Read on to learn:
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, as well as social and emotional characteristics, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
Some examples of soft skills include:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Problem-solving
If you’re applying for a job, soft skills are key in setting apart ideal candidates from adequate ones – especially when recruiters are deciding among applicants with similar work and education experience.
Studies also attest to it – 97% of employers say that soft skills are either as important or more important than hard skills and that more than half of new employees that fail within 18 months do so because they lack soft skills.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills, also referred to as measurable abilities, include anything from mastering Photoshop to emergency care knowledge. You obtain hard skills through your education, training, certifications, and professional experience.
Soft skills, also called people skills, are the mix of social and interpersonal skills, character traits, and professional attitudes that all jobs require. Teamwork, patience, time management, communication, are just a few examples. Soft skills can be personality traits or they can be traits obtained through life experiences.
Usually, you’d include both hard and soft skills in your resume as follows:
soft skills on
But for the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview.
💡
Quick Tip
A good resume includes both soft and hard skills. Check our article on How to List Skills in Your Resume to learn how to do it right.
Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Love (For Any Profession)
soft
Soft skills can tell a lot about how a candidate will interact in the workplace, how they might react under pressure, or what their professional potential is.
As such, a lot of employers prioritize hiring employees with the right soft skills over hard skills.
But which soft skills are really important, and which ones are less so?
In 2026, the most in-demand soft skills are as follows:
Time management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Creativity
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Work ethic
Attention to detail
#1. Time Management
Time management involves the ability to use your time wisely to work as efficiently as possible. Some sub-skills related to time management are:
Stress management
Organization
Prioritizing
Planning
Goal setting
#2. Communication
Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively and it’s among the top soft skills employers require across all fields.
The most common communication skills are:
Verbal communication
Written communication
Presentation
Constructive feedback
Active listening
#3. Adaptability
Your adaptability shows how well you can embrace change and adjust to it.
Companies and work environments constantly change: new team members come in, old ones leave, companies get bought or sold, and so on.
So, you need to be able to adapt to different situations at your workplace.
Here are some skills related to adaptability:
Self-management
Optimism
Calmness
Analysis
Self-motivation
career
#4. Problem-solving
Being able to analytically and creatively solve problems will come in handy no matter your job.
After all, there’s no job in the world where you won’t have any problems to deal with. That is why creative problem-solvers are always in high demand.
These are the skills associated with problem-solving:
Analysis
Logical reasoning
Observation
Brainstorming
Decision making
#5. Teamwork
Teamwork will never cease to be a must-have soft skill. It helps you work effectively in a group and accomplish tasks. Examples of skills related to teamwork are:
Conflict management and resolution
Collaboration
Coordination
Idea exchange
Mediation
#6. Creativity
We’re used to linking creativity with fields like art, or design, but creativity is a broad term that involves several sub-skills from questioning to experimenting. As such, any professional can make just as much use of creative skills as artists.
Here are some examples of creative skills:
Imagination
Mind-mapping
Innovation
Experimentation
Questioning
#7. Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to mentor, train, or guide. No matter the industry, employers prefer to hire applicants who show they have leadership potential for 2 reasons:
Employees with leadership skills show more initiative and are more likely to invest themselves in helping the company grow.
The company can eventually promote employees with strong leadership roles to better management positions.
Skills related to leadership include:
Management skills
Authenticity
Mentorship
Generosity
Cultural intelligence
#8. Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are all about how well you interact with others, tend after relationships, and make a positive impression on those around you.
Empathy
Humor
Networking
Tolerance
Diplomacy
#9. Work Ethic
Work ethic relates to valuing work and putting in the effort to yield results. It’s a soft skill that employers in literally every job you’ll ever apply for will appreciate. Some soft skills related to work ethic are:
Responsibility
Discipline
Dependability
Commitment
Professionalism
#10. Attention to Detail
Here’s another skill no employer will reject – the ability to be thorough and accurate in your work. Paying attention even to minor details is what sets apart dedicated employees from those who just want to get the job done and go home.
Some other soft skills related to attention to detail are:
Scheduling
Introspection
Acuity
Questioning
Critical observation
90+ Soft Skills Examples for 10 Careers
Now sure which soft skills are good to mention for your profession?
Below, we compiled a list of 90+ best soft skills for 10 different career paths. Just find the one that’s relevant for you and plug the skills into your resume!
#1. Customer Service
Customer service is all about soft skills, especially since it involves dealing with people. Be it in person, over the phone, or on the internet, your ‘people skills’ need to be on point if you are to work with demanding customers.
Here are some of the most popular soft skills in customer service:
Customer Service Soft Skills
Communication
Listening skills
Self-control
Positive attitude
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Depersonalization
Taking responsibility
Positivity
#2. Healthcare
A career in healthcare takes years of studying, a lot of training, and a variety of hard skills. At the same time, healthcare workers also need to be able to work well under pressure or pay close attention to detail.
Studies pointing to the importance of empathy in providing quality care, for example, are among many highlighting how soft skills are essential in developing a patient-centered approach.
Here are some other examples of soft skills in healthcare:
Healthcare Soft Skills
Work ethic
Stress management
Teamwork
Positive attitude
Flexibility
Time management
Confidence
Receptive attitude
Empathy
Attention to detail
#3. Digital Marketing
Marketing surely is one of the most popular career choices, but the fast development of new technologies and the transition to online work have brought digital marketing under the spotlight too.
But just because the industry utilizes digital technologies to market products and services doesn’t mean a career in digital marketing doesn’t require its own set of soft skills.
Here are 10 essential soft skills for a career in digital marketing:
Digital Marketing Soft Skills
Curiosity
Tenacity
Willingness to learn
Adaptability
Multitasking
Teamwork
Creativity
Work ethic
Honesty
Accepting criticism
#4. Management
An essential task of a successful manager is to coordinate and administer human resources. This makes soft skills all the more important for any type of management role.
Here are some examples of what’s required from managers in terms of soft skills:
Management Soft Skills
Emotional intelligence
Stress management
Motivation
Task delegation
Negotiation
Planning
Problem-solving
Innovation
Charisma
Leadership
#5. Education
Keeping up with the times is essential for a career in education since you mostly get to deal with younger people. This involves continuously upgrading your hard skills, especially when it comes to new teaching methods and online learning.
The soft skills required from an educator, on the other hand, haven’t changed drastically over time. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Education Soft Skills
Written and oral communication
Public speaking
Stress management
Patience
Critical thinking
Enthusiasm
Motivation
Work ethic
Conflict resolution
Assertiveness
#6. Sales
Soft skills are vital if you want to succeed in sales. After all, sales involve a combination of soft skills that range from negotiation to persuasion and empathy. It doesn’t matter whether you work over the phone or on the internet – doing sales will always require that your soft skills are on point.
Let’s look at ten soft skills required for a sales professional:
Sales Soft Skills
Public speaking
Negotiation
Persuasion
Communication
Sociability
Empathy
Teamwork
Time management
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
#7. Design
Being a successful designer is about a lot more than just remote design work behind your PC screen. In addition to creativity and attention to detail, a designer needs to be an active listener and open to feedback to bring the client’s vision to life.
Here are the top soft skills for any designer:
Design Soft Skills
Visual communication
Verbal communication
Creativity
Attention to detail
Active listening
Patience
Aesthetics
Time management
Motivation
Accepting criticism
#8. Accounting
Maybe accounting and soft skills don’t feel like the right mix of words, but a career in accounting also requires its own set of soft skills.
Here’s what they boil down to:
Accounting Soft Skills
Effective written and oral communication
Organization
Attention to detail
Problem-solving
Time management
System analysis
Deductive reasoning
Critical thinking
Active learning
Accuracy
#9. Business Analytics
Another in-demand profession in today’s digital world, business analysts are tasked with balancing and combining business knowledge with advancing technologies.
Here are the soft skills required from a business analyst:
Business Analytics Soft Skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Quality client service
Decision making
Problem-solving
Strategic thinking
Technical writing
Team building
Presentation and public thinking
#10. Web Development
Being good at C++ or Java is not all it takes to make a career in web development. There are several soft skills required from developers too, such as creativity and problem-solving.
In other cases, developers are required to collaborate with designers to bring an idea to life, and that’s where active listening comes in.
The top soft skills for web developers consist of the following:
Web Development Soft Skills
Active listening
Patience
Open-mindedness
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Creativity
Accountability
Confidence
Time and project management
💡
Quick Tip
If you’re looking for more soft skills to put on your resume, get inspired from these 100+ essential skills to put on your resume!
How to List Soft Skills On Your Resume
The way you list your skills on your resume matters.
For example, you need to ensure that you’re listing the right soft skills in the first place (and that they’re relevant for the role you’re applying for).
You should also back those soft skills up with experiences – you can’t just say “I’m a great leader” if nothing in your resume supports this claim.
So, here are our top 4 tips on how to list your soft skills in your resume and get an edge over the competition.
#1. Tailor Soft Skills to the Job
The more job-specific you are with the skills on your resume, the better.
What we mean by this is, you should only list skills that are relevant to the position.
For example, if you’re applying to be a server, you probably won’t need problem-solving and critical thinking skills as much as effective communication and teamwork.
Tailoring your soft skills to the job is easier than you think – all you need to do is use the job description as a cheat sheet. Basically, just read the job ad in detail and make a list of the required skills. Then, add them to your resume.
Let’s assume you’re applying for a sales manager position. The requirements are:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
5 years of experience in sales.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Proven ability to lead a team to meet quotas.
Excellent leadership skills.
Experience setting sales goals.
You just got four skills tailored to the job just by reading the requirements:
Oral and written communication skills
Leadership
Goal-oriented
Teamwork
#2. Back-Up Soft Skills With Other Sections
Anyone can mention that they have amazing critical thinking and leadership skills in their resume.
Unless they back this up with some facts and experiences, though, the recruiter won’t take you seriously.
Now, this may not be as easy as tailoring them to the job, but there are certainly ways around it.
Let’s say you’re applying as a creative director for an advertising agency.
Your required soft skills would probably include some of the following:
Creativity
Leadership
Oral communication
Project management
First things first – you’d mention these skills in the dedicated skills section.
Afterward, you’d back them up as follows:
When listing your work experiences, mention achievements or responsibilities that show off these soft skills.
For example, to show off your project management skills, you can write:
Correct Example
Coordinated 10 people to create a YouTube video ad for a client that resulted in the client’s revenues increasing by over $50,000 within a month.
Or, to showcase your creativity, you can include the following bit:
Correct Example:
Conceptualized and pitched an ad idea that went on to win the Epica Award.
💡
Quick Tip
There’s a lot more to creating a compelling resume than listing your skills the right way. Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume to learn more.
#3. Use Transferable Skills When Switching Careers
Transferable skills can be particularly useful if you’re switching careers or changing directions within the industry. They include skills that are not job-specific, but still useful to the position.
Let’s assume you are leaving your job as a news reporter and applying for a Public Relations position. Although the industries are different, both are communications-related professions.
This means you can list some relevant soft skills acquired as a reporter on your new resume to show you’re not completely unfamiliar with the job.
As a news reporter, your soft skills can include (but are not limited to):
Communication skills
Presentation skills
Interpersonal skills
Creativity
These are all skills you can easily ‘transfer’ into your PR resume and show you can take on the change.
Soft Skills FAQ
Still have some questions about soft skills?
Check out our FAQ below!
1. How are soft skills essential for career growth?
2. How are soft skills different from hard skills?
3. What are recruiters’ top 10 soft skills?
4. Can soft skills be acquired?
5. Can you put soft skills on a resume?
Key Takeaways
Phew! And that wraps up everything you need to know about soft skills and your career.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article:
Soft skills consist of a combination of people, social, and communication skills, character traits, attitudes, and mindsets, among others, which are sought for in all professions.
There are two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. For the most part, skills are something a recruiter learns about you through an interview, although both go into your resume.
Although several soft skills are valued in every profession, each industry requires its own set of soft skills for a successful career in the field. So, when applying for a job, make sure to list soft skills that are relevant for YOU.
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