Soft Skills vs Technical Skills – Which is more important for getting jobs (2024)

Skills are the unified force of experience, intellect and passion in their operation.

-John Ruskin

-Why should we hire you?

- Well I’m very passionate towards not starving to death.

Alike there are dozens of jokes and pun regarding the hiring process in this modern age.

But, before hitting up to the interview, you need to pin down your strengths, achievements and define what makes you a desirable candidate. Well, the competition is so harsh, as now knowledge is easily accessible than ever before, all thanks to the internet. Knowledge is not a complete thing in itself, certain set of skills are important to showcase yourself in a unique way amongst the other people on the island aiming for a single box of treasure.

When it comes to work skills, they can be broken down into two types, Technical skills and Soft skills. They are pretty different from one another but both are necessary to be successful in a job. Basically, technical skills are concrete skills that are specific to our job and are required for us to actually do our work more accurately and precisely. Like, if you are a chef, cooking would be your hard skill and if you are a programmer coding would be an example. Technical skills include tools and machines on which you work and get proficiency after a certain time.

Soft skills on the other hand are the interpersonal skills or people skills that can be used in any/every job. These include communication, teamwork, and adaptability. Soft skills are also called transferrable skills because you can transfer them from one job to another job. Technical skills are generally learned through school, colleges, training centers or previous work. They are more objective, meaning that once you have learned the information or task you will then be able to possess that skill.

Soft skills are more difficult to develop, you will need to practice them over time in the real world with others. It comes naturally to some people while others may not have such an easy time with them. Soft skills are often used in everyday situations like getting expertise in time management, confidence development, being an efficient team player etc. and are not particular to any job. To sum up soft skills can be regarded as presentation skills. Technical skills are easy to measure, employers can get a good idea of your skills by looking at your education, previous experience, and various certifications. Soft skills are comparatively difficult to evaluate as they can’t really be communicated through resume cover letters, instead an employer has to wait until an interview or some days on the job to get the idea of your soft skills.

But, there is a gap which is known as skills gap or I call it a trench. Almost 100% of college graduates feel prepared to enter workforce, but only few get selected for the job. This is the gap which I call it a perception gap.So, whose perception is more important, the college graduate or the one who is hiring? Well, it is the person who is hiring, firing and signing the cheque. Now a days, hiring authorities think, students lack both technical skills and soft skills. So, which are the technical skills that hiring managers think are most lacking amongst students?

The managers are not much into knowing about mathematics, data analysis, SEO/SEM, foreign language, designing, softwares, sales etc. but the managers are more interested in writing proficiency and as considered the most lacking skill in an individual.

The question that now arises is that according to hiring managers which one is more important or most lacking? Attention to detail, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, communication, or teamwork. Well among all these mentioned soft skills critical thinking and problem solving is the one set of skill which students are lacking and the hiring managers consider these two soft skills in a student as a priority. Since critical thinking is the ability to gather, analyze, evaluate and apply information and not having these skills creates real problem for organizations and, of course, not being able to solve a problem is a problem in and of itself.

Studying takes you on a path towards acquiring hard skills, the specific technical skills you need to do your job effectively. While these are the skills you’ll list on yourCV, today’s employers seek more than this. Increasing importance is being placed on soft skills – personal attributes that enable you to interact well with other people.

Well, technical skills are useless without soft skills as technical skills alone are not enough to be truly effective. A salesperson with an unrivalled knowledge of their product and market will have little success if they don’t have the interpersonal skills needed to close deals and retain clients. A business manager needs to be able to listen to employees, have good speaking skills, and be able to think creatively. All careers require at least some soft skills to make the hard skills valuable.

Skills such as listening, collaborating with others, presenting ideas and communicating with team members are all highly valued in the modern workplace. Strong soft skills ensure a productive, collaborative and healthy work environment, all vital attributes for organizations in an increasingly competitive world. The modern market offers consumers an unlimited number of choices through technologies such as the internet and smartphones. For these consumers, convenience and low prices are easy to come by, so customer service is often what influences the choice to use a particular business. The ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with customers is therefore a vital factor in an organization’s success.

In this growing age of technology, automation and artificial intelligence will result in a greater proportion of jobs relying on soft skills. Thanks to cutting-edge technology, tasks that require hard skills are continuing to decline, making soft skills key differentiators in the workplace.

I would rather say that hirers will never be able to differentiate among these skills because they are so integral to the personality of an individual that none would ever be able to evaluate them separately. It‘s very important to call a spade a spade and hence I will reiterate the fact that none of the skills would ever be able to accomplish anything without the other.

Also if you look into the heart of the matter you find that both of them are equally important as they the sought knowledge will never be practiced without the social skills of an individual.

One may have a lot of technical skills but to practice them on a root level one will have to be an expert at the application level which is not possible without soft skills.

An employee may have an exceptional command over his concrete skills but if he/she lacks a commitment towards his job or employer or lacks loyalty neither the individual nor the employer or company will ever be able to progress.

Competence and expertise of the subject are the most important elements which could secure a dignified job to a candidate. Without proper degree, training and certification an individual will never be able to secure a job. But what we must comprehend here precisely is the fact that securing a job is only the first step, it actually begins the journey but to be retained in the journey and that too making a peaceful, desirable and healthy atmosphere soft skills will come into play. A colleague who is a loner, or is blessed with absurd mannerism, or odd behavior will either not be able to survive himself or will put others into trouble because of his above mentioned demeanor. Let’s now consider a reverse scenario wherein the candidate not only possesses the technical skills but is also a proud owner of team spirit, leadership and sociable personality traits. In this situation the individual, his colleagues and the company are bound to progress which ultimately leads to a win – win situation for all of them leading each one towards the zenith of progress.

Here’s a list of the soft skills that today’s employers value most: