Hello Everyone! Did you miss us? We missed you! Hope you guys are having a good summer! This week, we're talking about hard skills vs. soft-skills. Hard skills are skills are skills that are easily measurable and teachable like math, writing, or a language. Soft skills are skills that make up who you are and aren't necessarily unique to a particular job description like communication skills, collaborative skills, and leadership skills. Your combination of both your hard and soft skillsets determine how you will be perceived to your current or future employers and what opportunities will come your way. It's important to play on both of them to channel your career in the way you want.
Hard-Skills
I am proficient in React, HTML, CSS, and Java and familiar with SQL, C#, MatLab, and Python. These skills are some of my hard skills and what drives my work day. Now because these are my hard skills, when looking for new opportunities or new projects to take on, I evaluate it based on whether or not the project is in my skillset and if it's not if I want to build my skillset with that particular technical skill. At the same time, my manager and other potential employers are also evaluating my hard skills and seeing if I would be a good fit for whatever project or role is available.
Soft Skills
My soft skills are communication, leadership, interpersonal intelligence, and organization. These skills are skills that allow me to implement my hard skills more effectively and are also ways in which I can stand out/be remembered. Showcasing your soft skills are what helps you propel in your career because it's not enough to just be able to do things technically, you have to be someone that people want to work with.
Define your hard skills and soft skills. Use your hard skills to get your name in the door, and use your soft skills to help you have a successful career! It's important to strike that balance of being a human that people can connect with while also making sure you can do quality work.
-The Engineer
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