Behavioural skills are no substitute for technical skills or professional qualities. But they do complement them by providing key answers to questions that recruiters ask themselves, such as: looking beyond your skills, how do you go about your work on a daily basis? How do you react to unexpected events or increasingly complex situations? In the abstract – ‘I’m organised’, I adapt easily’ – soft skills don’t contribute very much. What makes them more important is the practical reality behind them: the ability to manage conflicting priorities, handle dissatisfied customers, etc. Analytical skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and resilience are examples of personal qualities or soft skills that recruiters simply can’t identify just by reading your CV.
How do you make 4 key behavioural skills credible?
Choose the right behavioural skills to talk about and make them credible
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Some behavioural skills will be more important than others, depending on the role you’re applying for. So in a customer-facing role, active listening and a commitment to service delivery will be crucial. In a more operational role, reliability, responsiveness and multitasking will make a bigger and better impression on the recruiter. The best way is to choose two or three soft skills that are useful in this specific context, then give an example for each of them, and add these skills to your CV. You don’t need a whole paragraph, just a description of the actions you’ve taken and their outcomes. A good habit to get into before applying is to re-read the vacancy details, and identify the most frequently used words and terms: independence, customer focus, attention to detail, team spirit, etc. This list of qualities reveals the key expectations of the recruiter in relation to this role.
Questions - answers
How do you select the right soft (or behavioural) skills for a given role?
Go back to the vacancy details and read them carefully: the most frequently occurring words will give you clear clues about what the recruiter is looking for. Then select two or three behavioural skills you can demonstrate persuasively; not necessarily all those you see as positive, but those that are most relevant in this precise context.
Can behavioural skills replace technical skills?
No, but they do complement them. Technical skills demonstrate that you know how to do something. Behavioural skills reveal how you go about things, how you respond when things don’t go to plan, and how you work with others.
How do you make a behavioural skill credible when applying for a job?
Start from a real-life situation, rather than make an abstract statement. Choose an occasion when this skill made a real difference, then briefly describe the context, the action you took and what the outcome was. The more specific your example is, the more convincing it will be to the recruiter. A soft skill without an example is just an empty term. The evidence is in the example.
