Your CV and Covering Letter must be targeted for the sector you are interested in and are applying for. This helps the employer to see that you are driving your career in a particular direction into a particular industry sector and so if they bring you into this company for this role, they believe there is a high chance you will fit in with the existing culture/teams, commit, work hard and be happy because it is a role you are fundamentally interested in yourself. Once you have a professional and targeted CV ready it can then be used to complete Application Forms if required. Application Forms are used by companies who want to see very quickly which candidate is meeting the requirements for the role. They do this by asking all candidates the same questions outlined in the application. Visit our dedicated CV and Covering Letter webpage to update your CV and Covering Letter to a graduate level.
Online Psychometric Tests– Psychometric Tests have been used by graduate employers for many years to help them find the best candidates for their organisation. Many of these tests would have been completed by graduates online as part of the interview and selection process. There are different types of tests depending on what the employer is trying to measure e.g. abilities tests and personality tests. While all graduates would have a very high chance of scoring well in these tests, the main difficultly is completing a timed test you haven’t seen before. Therefore, understanding the tests that you will be completing and practising some of these tests will be important to secure a high score.
Simply put, soft skills are the skills that determine how well we interact with people and how we approach daily tasks.
They can be categorised as:
- Communication – verbal, non-verbal
- Teamwork – collaboration over competition, support, conflict management
- Leadership – delegating, empathy, decision-making
- Problem-solving – critical thinking, evaluation
- Responsibility – self-management, trust, time-management
Unlike hard skills, which are learned through courses or training, soft skills are learned through life experience and professional or personal development.
University, for example, is one of the most common times for learning and developing soft skills, as for the first time in our lives, we live without daily support from our parents.
As a university student, you need to get to your classes on time, keep up with the work, do your own laundry, buy your own food, cook your meals and make any appointments you need.
It is at this stage you begin to realise what soft skills you are naturally good at and which ones you need to work on.
A quick look around your halls will tell you if someone is organised or unorganised, creative or uncreative, disciplined or undisciplined.
But regardless of your current skillset, you must develop your soft skills ready for employment post-graduation.
Why is Developing Soft Skills So Important for New Graduates?
A 2019 study found that graduates lacked essential skills such as:
- Critical thinking
- Innovation and creativity
- Communicating
This lack of essential skills makes recruitment difficult and can lead to a limited workforce.
The theory is that new technologies are replacing practices that lead to the development of these skills. Automation is fantastic and saves us a lot of time, but it also takes away key learning experiences.
Aside from being essential in the workplace, soft skills also:
1. Distinguish You From Your Peers When Applying for Jobs
When graduating, everyone in your class possesses the same hard skills. While your work experience gives you an edge, it is the soft skills your potential employer is looking for.
They want to know that you can make deadlines, get to work on time, talk to clients or customers, know how to work with others, and take the initiative.
Think back to the last time you needed to make a phone call. Were you hoping they wouldn’t answer? Were you nervous? Did you have to practice what you will say?
How many times have you missed an appointment or shown up late because the event wasn’t on your calendar? And used that as your excuse?
2. Indicate Future Growth and Success
Recruitment and hiring is an expensive process. Employers want those who can move up through the company and will add value.
Demonstrating at the beginning of your career that you take the lead and make decisions independently tells employers that you are worth the investment.
How Can I Develop Soft Skills As a Graduate?
As a student or a graduate about to start their working life, you are always learning and developing. But there are two effective ways to ensure you acquire the right skills:
- Seek experiences that push you out of your comfort zone
- Create goals and systems
Seeking experiences that push us out of our comfort zone force us to look critically at ourselves.
We’re not suggesting skydiving (not for building soft skills anyway), but taking part in an activity that you would usually shy away from will help develop your communication and confidence. For example, auditioning for the drama club or putting yourself forward for a leadership role.
Creating goals and systems is thoroughly explained in the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.
The idea is that, while having goals is a good thing, creating the daily habits to facilitate these goals is better.
As a graduate, your goal is to get the best result and job you can.
For some, this involves endless amounts of stressing and reading all the material you can. For others, this could be leaving everything to the last minute and pulling all-nighters.
Yes, this will help you reach your goal now, but what happens when you get a job? You won’t be able to leave everything to the last minute in the workplace. You certainly won’t have weeks/months to work on an assignment like in university.
Developing good systems and habits in your early university days will help you reach every goal you set throughout your entire life.
Clear describes the process like this: decide on the type of person you want to be and take small steps every day to get there.
In terms of your soft skills, what activities can you do every day that will make you a better listener or communicator? How can you improve your self-management and discipline?
They don’t have to be profound steps like spending half your day in the library and the other half at an internship. They can be small things like ensuring your clothes are cleaned and ironed, eating healthy, balanced meals, or getting to all your classes on time.
Everyday Ways to Develop Your Soft Skills
To help develop your soft skills before applying for jobs, you can:
- Take on part-time or freelance work
- Use and manage your online spaces to show your interest in a subject
- Volunteer at a non-profit you are passionate about
- Complete an internship or work experience
- Participate in extracurricular activities or clubs
- Complete additional online courses
- Become a tutor or mentor
- Take personality tests to see what your workplace strengths and weaknesses are
- Organise public events, activities or projects
- Eat healthier
- Exercise regularly
There are limitless ways to develop your soft skills. As a new graduate, you are not expected to be perfect at these skills, but you will need to demonstrate an aptitude for them.
Take advantage of your time at university to develop these skills and create daily systems that facilitate your personal and professional growth.
