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Soft Skills vs Hard Skills (and How to Use Them on Your Resume)

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Hard skills vs. soft skills: What’s the difference?

A combination of hard skills and soft skills forms a well-rounded job applicant. Hard skills differ from soft skills. But, a mix of both is ideal. It balances knowledge with interpersonal traits. Hard skills show mastery and skill. Soft skills show communication and relational abilities.

For example, a software engineer may have the following skills on their resume: Javascript, Java, CASE, and Linux. The are hard skills, but they may also have soft skills, like being detail-oriented, working well under pressure, and having great time management.

This applicant’s hard skills demonstrate a very different, very specific expertise compared to their soft skills. Hard skills help the applicant get past ATS while showing experience level and qualification for the position. Soft skills make the applicant human, showing leadership, empathy, and character.

Hard skills vs. soft skills: What’s the difference?

A combination of hard skills and soft skills forms a well-rounded job applicant. Hard skills differ from soft skills. But, a mix of both is ideal. It balances knowledge with interpersonal traits. Hard skills show mastery and skill. Soft skills show communication and relational abilities.

For example, a software engineer may have the following skills on their resume: Javascript, Java, CASE, and Linux. The are hard skills, but they may also have soft skills, like being detail-oriented, working well under pressure, and having great time management.

This applicant’s hard skills demonstrate a very different, very specific expertise compared to their soft skills. Hard skills help the applicant get past ATS while showing experience level and qualification for the position. Soft skills make the applicant human, showing leadership, empathy, and character.


What are hard skills?

Hard skills are taught skills. They are quantifiable and are often learned in school, through certifications, or in previous work experience. Hard skills are specific to each job and are often the basis of job requirements.

Recruiters look for hard skills on your resume to gauge how well you may perform job duties. These skills are crucial. They help with applicant tracking systems (ATS). These systems rank and filter job applications. 

Hard skills are “resume keywords.” Recruiters use these to search for candidates in applicant tracking systems. To be highly searchable, a resume must include the most suitable levels of skills in the job description.


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