Your hard skills play a role in getting you the interview, but they won’t get you the job by themselves. These days, employers look for candidates who already have good soft skills. Why? Soft skills make people more effective on the job, for one. They’re also very hard to teach and all but impossible to teach quickly. So, which soft skills are most likely to get you hired?

Teamwork

Businesses don’t really employ individuals. They employ teams. Businesses expect the people on these teams to work together to achieve their goals. People who routinely show up late, for example, don’t make good team players. Showing up late inconveniences everyone on their team. People who make useful suggestions often make excellent team players.
Takeaway: Think of examples of times when you were a good team player that you can discuss in interviews.

Communication

Good communication doesn’t mean tossing out $10 words all the time or talking at length. Most people have worked with someone who talked a lot but never made a clear point. Good communication means you can explain your thoughts or the steps in a process clearly. Businesses place a premium on good communication skills because they make the work run smoother.

Problem Solving

No matter how well-run a business is, problems still happen. Equipment breaks down or people call out at the last second. All too often, work slows or even stops in these situations. If you can think your way around these kinds of issues, businesses want you.
Takeaway: Not confident about your problem-solving skills? Take up a hobby like playing an instrument or learning a second language to boost those skills.

Accepting Feedback

Getting feedback can prove a trying experience for you and your supervisor. Poorly delivered feedback can feel like open criticism and put people on the defensive. Even when poorly delivered, the whole point of feedback is improvement. Businesses want employees who can take feedback in the spirit of improving performance. Learn that skill and you move right up the list of preferred candidates.

Conflict Management

You can’t avoid workplace conflict. If you’re aiming for a supervisory or leadership role, however, start honing your conflict management skills. Businesses shell out more than $350 billion a year dealing with conflict in the workplace. If you can help reduce those costs even a little by preventing problems from escalating, you become an invaluable resource.
Takeaway: If you don’t already know conflict management techniques, start learning and practicing them.

Practice Your Soft Skills

Businesses know they probably can’t teach you soft skills fast enough to make a real difference. That means you must work on them yourself ahead of time. Look for hobbies or volunteering opportunities that let you practice soft skills in a low-stakes situation.

Do You Have Any Questions for Me?

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“Do you have any questions for me?”  Don’t get stumped by this common interview question! Answer “no”, and you might as well start looking for another job. So why do interviewers ask if you have any questions? They want to find out three important things:

1. Did you do your homework about the position and the company?
2. Are you really interested in the job?
3. How are your conversational skills and thought processes?

And, since you could possibly be working at this company, it’s in your best interest to ask as many questions as possible so that you know exactly what to expect. Here are some examples of what you might want to ask…

To find out more about the company:

• Where do you see the company headed?
• What will the company be like five years from now?
• Can you describe the company culture?
• How do you stay ahead of the competition?
• Where do you see this industry headed?
• What is turnover like?

Interviewer questions:

• What do you like about working here?
• How long have you been working here?
• If you could change or improve anything, what would it be?

To find out more about your position:

• Is this a new position? If so, why was this position created?
• Describe a typical work week/day in this position.
• How many people work in this department?
• Can you show me an organizational structure chart or give me an idea about the chain of command?
• How will my performance be measured? By whom?
• Will I be given periodic reviews?
• How would you describe the responsibilities of this position?
• What is the management style like?
• What are the opportunities for advancement?
• What is the company’s policy on providing seminars, workshops, and training so employees can keep up their skills or acquire new ones?

Work-life balance and other expectations:

• How much travel is expected?
• What are the typical hours like?
• Is overtime expected?
• Is relocation a possibility?

Follow-up questions:

• If I am offered a position, when would I be expected to start?
• What are the next steps in the hiring process?
• When should I expect that you’d be making your decision?
• Is there anything else that you’d like to know?

And NEVER ask these questions:

• Questions that can easily be answered by checking the employer’s website or any other literature that has been provided to you before the interview.
• Salary and benefit information, unless the employer brings up the topic.

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References: Doyle, Alison. “Your Guide to Job Searching: Interview Questions and Answers.” http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest2.htm