Top 10 Soft Skills That Companies Need Most In 2020

Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills and communication skills.  These skills are an essential part of a job description in recent years as more and more companies are recognizing the importance of having soft skills to complement hard skills.  Skills generally imply a practical function but in the case of soft skills it could be interpreted as the ability to master hard to control actions.

Soft skills can improve a person’s chances of success while seeking a job opportunity as they let an individual stand out from the crowd.  The list of soft skills which are in demand constantly keeps changing to complement the ever changing work landscape.

According to some of the famous job portals and professional networking platforms, these are the ten soft skills that companies desire  in 2020.

1. Critical Thinking:

 Critical thinking is the act of analyzing facts to understand a problem or topic thoroughly. Critical thinking often occurs in order of a few steps from identifying a problem or issue to developing a solution.  As technology becomes increasingly complex by the day, this is a skill that would always be one of the most sought after by companies.  For example an automobile mechanic would have to identify the problem of why a car is seemingly breaking down out of the blue.  In order to identify the problem, the mechanic cannot dismantle the entire car to zero in on the root cause but instead he/she should be able to single out which part of the car is the problem stemming .  The solution could be found out by analyzing the problem at hand, organizing and sorting the data at hand.  Situations like these are where critical thinking abilities come to the fore.

2. Persuasion:

Persuasion is the ability to convince a teammate or a client to understand your point of view.  The ability to persuade someone by being able to explain the ‘why’ would be a sign of a leadership quality in an individual.  Therefore it is important to brush up on the ability to effectively communicate ideas to one’s colleagues.

3. Complex problem solving

Can two existing technologies be merged to come up with a single technology that does the same amount of work and improves efficiency?  Is it possible to reduce the environmental impact by coming up with a recyclable alternative?  These are the kind of scenarios where complex problem solving comes into the picture.  To put it simply, it is the ability to analyse and make calculated decisions.  A good example here would be how the Telangana state government worked with the Municipal Corporation Of Hyderabad to make use of the ongoing lockdown to carry out road repair works, drainage works, pending flyover construction works.  The lack of public on the roads means work progresses at a faster rate thereby bringing down labor charges and equipment rental charges.

4. Collaboration

Collaboration is the process of two or more individuals or organisations working together to complete a project or a goal.  Collaboration can bring out communication skills to the fore and a collaborative environment can be an extremely rewarding environment to hone different soft skills and leadership traits.  Teams or individuals can achieve high functionality when working in a collaborative atmosphere.

5. Adaptability

Change is the only constant in life or a business.  Being adaptable means being open to learning new skills and experiences, being able to change working styles or picking up job roles outside of your comfort zone.  Organisations are always on the lookout for this trait.  Being adaptable in your career or job role could mean you are able to respond quickly to changing ideas, responsibilities, expectations, trends, strategies and other processes at work. 

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6. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage one’s emotions.  Individuals with a high degree of emotional intelligence are always careful about how their emotions can affect other people.  Emotional intelligence is a skill which can be learned by increasing self awareness, empathy, motivation and cultivating social skills.  The more you manage to master these qualities, the higher the emotional intelligence. The ability to perceive, understand and respond to one’s own emotions or that of others is a trait which is in high demand.

7. People management

People management is the ability to assess and analyse the skills of individual persons and come up with a plan to manage all the skills available to make a high functioning team.  This is a skill which lets an employer understand how empathetic is a candidate they are interviewing.

8. Negotiation

The art of negotiation is a highly sought after skill since ages.  Having the ability to negotiate means an individual is able to reconcile differences diplomatically without compromising on the value of the output.

9. Helpful attitude or service orientation

Service orientation is the ability to anticipate, recognize and meet other people’s needs sometimes even before the needs are expressed.  This is a highly sought after skill in the service and product based industries.

10. Cognitive Flexibility

Cognitive flexibility refers to the brain’s ability to transition from thinking about one concept to another.  Someone who is cognitively flexible will be able to learn more quickly, and adapt and respond to new situations more effectively, which is why it’s so important in both educational settings and the workplace.  It also means being able to adapt and modify communications depending on the situation or a person.  Employers want to know you don’t just say the same thing, in the same way, to everyone.  Having this skill will reaffirm an employers belief in a candidate that they can handle multiple scenarios or works at the same time without compromising on the quality

These are the skills that would enhance the chances of an individual to get noticed. The real question however is if you are rising up to the challenge and learn these skills.  Let us know if there are any other important soft skills which need to be mentioned!