today i'm going to cover what soft skills are the difference between soft skills versus hard skills
and i'm going to cover the top four soft skills interview questions and answers so that you know
how to approach these in your interview i'm amri celeste an interview coach and hr recruitment
specialist with over 11 years hiring experience if you're new to the channel welcome i cover tough
interview questions and answers on this channel if you haven't already do like subscribe and tap the
notification bell so that you never miss a video so first what's the difference between soft skills
and hard skills hard skills are the specific abilities and knowledge that you need to perform a
certain job they are tangible measurable abilities that you acquired through education or training
they can be easily quantified and they're often listed on your cv or resume so examples of hard
skills include computer programming electrical engineering or writing for example if you were
applying for a job as a web developer your hard skills might include experience with html css
javascript soft skills on the other hand are general skills that can be applied to any job
so they're excellent transferable skills which means that you can use them to explain how your
skill sets transfer to another role you want to move into particularly if you don't have
experience or relevant hard skills due to being new in the industry or changing career paths
i cover transferable skills interview questions and answers in this video if you want some solid
example answers that can help you transition into a new career or just to get on the right career
path so i'll link that video in the description below this video but soft skills can be seen as
just as important when it comes to getting hired in fact many employers place a specific emphasis
on finding candidates with strong soft skills for example a candidate with excellent communication
skills is more likely to be successful in a customer-facing role than a candidate with no
communication skills so these are the intangible people skills that are more difficult to measure
they include qualities like communication teamwork problem solving and leadership so they're normally
tied to your emotional intelligence soft skills are more nuanced and subjective than hard skills
so here are the top four soft skills interview questions and answers i focused on soft skills
here as it's more commonly where candidates struggle and where most candidates don't
pass their interviews i don't want that to be you so here are the top four the first soft skill is
problem solving so question one is describe a time when you solved a problem an example answer
is a few months ago i was working on a project with a team of colleagues from other departments
one of the team members was consistently coming to meetings late not completing her assigned tasks
and generally disrupting the workflow i spoke to her privately to try to resolve the issue
but she became defensive and refused to listen at that point i went to my supervisor for advice
and explained the situation they suggested new discussion points i could bring up to approach the
conversation from a new angle i invited the team member to a coffee chat in more casual setting
and i had a discussion about the importance of timely communication and collaboration and
its effects on the project as a result of that conversation she began to change her behavior
and started contributing more effectively to the project and the project was completed on
time now the strongest parts of this answer are here so here you've demonstrated that your first
go-to approach was communication you spoke to her privately to try and resolve the issue
in your own answer communication has got to underpin your approach particularly if your
example involves a problem with another person as opposed to a paperwork or technical related
problem open communication is critical to demonstrate in these types of answers and when
you do this you're demonstrating two soft skills one is problem solving and the other is strong
communication so then here we go on to explain that you sought out advice which is trying to
approach the situation from different angles you sought out advice from someone more experienced
and tried what they suggested i love this part here where you decided that a casual setting would
be more calming for the situation and the result was that her approach attitude and quality of work
improved and the project was completed on time if you're getting value from this so far then do like
subscribe and leave a comment below asking me any questions that you have it's a huge help for
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this video now many of you may have spotted that in this answer i've used the star method or star
interview method also known as the star technique this is a structured framework that you can use
to make sure your answer hits all the points the interviewer is looking for it's an easy way to
make sure your answer is comprehensive and as you can see here it stands for situation task action
result i dedicated this video to covering the star method with four really strong example answers and
i recommend you use that method so do take a look before your interview to get some good practice in
now look out for the star method in the next set of answers the next soft skill is teamwork
question two is can you give me an example of when you demonstrated teamwork an example answer is in
my current role we're regularly given specific targets to increase sales one example of a time
when i demonstrated teamwork at work was when our team was tasked with increasing sales by 10
i suggested we brainstorm ideas and i made sure that i listened to ideas from each team member
ultimately we came up with a plan to target new customers we worked together making calls and
setting up appointments i suggested we split up the list of customers and had follow-up calls and
sent thank-you notes as a result of our efforts we surpassed our goal increasing sales by 15
it was a true team effort and i'm proud of the role i played in our success
so you likely spotted how this answer fit into the situation task action result in the star method so
there were two strong points in this answer that i recommend you use in your own interview so here
it says i suggested we brainstorm i listened to ideas we came up with a plan we worked together
i suggested we split the list all of these areas show how you encouraged the team to
work together but also included your own ideas and your own contribution so you're not solely
leaning on the team in your own answer if you're demonstrating the soft skill of teamwork this is
critical you've got to show you worked in a team but don't just show that you did work as part of
a group as instructed show that you contributed as well and that will boost your answer
if you struggle with tough interview questions and answers you can grab a copy of this free guide
this guide is packed with example answers and interview tips for your job interview
to boost your interview skills including answers to difficult questions like why
should we give you the job what's your greatest weakness and how do you handle pressure at work
i've also included an important bonus question and what you should be asking your interviewer
at the end of your interview it's free and you can get yours by clicking the link in the description
below this video the next soft skill is time management question three is can you give me
an example of when you have to manage your time due to conflicting priorities an example answer
is i have a lot of experience with a busy workload so i definitely understand the importance of time
management in my current role a few months ago i needed to complete a presentation for
a team meeting but i also needed to train a new employee alongside my normal daily tasks
before i started anything i decided to map out my week and plan a training schedule for the new
employee i built in gaps of time around my daily duties so i could get them completed in order to
complete the presentation i assigned some basic tasks to colleagues who had volunteered to help
for that week so that i could use that time to work on my presentation as a result i was able to
complete the presentation and training and my daily tasks were also completed with the help
of my team so in this answer you started off by explaining that you understand the importance of
time management but then you back up your claim with a solid example so when your interview is
asking you a situational interview question the star method is critical because it automatically
helps you to include a situation so here with time management you're showing that you don't just jump
in you plan estimate and map out your time to make sure you allow time for everything to be completed
with time management it's really important that you show some kind of plan or considered approach
like a to-do list prioritization time limits even taking breaks can be part of managing time because
when you're rested and your mind is fresh you're more efficient and it results in better quality
work if it's intentional and planned so i cover interview questions and answers relating to
conflicting priorities in this video so i'll also link that below in case you want to check that out
so the next soft skill is leadership question four is can you give me an example of a time
when you had to use leadership skills in order to achieve success an example answer is recently
our team was tasked with developing a new product line the project was complex and required a lot of
coordination between different departments as the project manager i knew that it was essential to
maintain a clear vision and sense of direction to that end i took the following three actions first
i met with each department head to discuss their roles in the project this helped to ensure that
everyone was on the same page and understood their deadlines second i created a detailed
schedule that broke the project down into small manageable tasks this allowed us to track our
progress and make adjustments as needed finally i held regular team meetings to provide updates
and answer any questions ultimately the project ran smoothly and was completed on time
our team received accolades from upper management and our product line was
successfully launched i believe the success would not have been possible without strong leadership
all right so although i've given a role relating to management to demonstrate leadership here
i should add that you don't have to be in management to demonstrate leadership skills
things like being decisive being a positive role model and a willingness to embrace new ideas
all demonstrate leadership skills as well and demonstrating these skills often position you
for leadership if that's where you want to go in your career so with this answer as well as
a strong star method example the strongest points are here clear vision and sense of direction this
is critical to show in your own answer if you're leading in any sense of the word you would need
to be clear about where you're going and what you want what i love here about this style of answer
is it actually lists your first second and final action so it's clear exactly what you
did in your own answer clear points that show what your actions were are really important
particularly because you would be demonstrating leadership here if you haven't already do like
subscribe and leave a comment thank you for watching and i will see you in the next video