Most roles require a candidate to have certain hard skills – computer programming or operating machinery for example. However, your soft skills are equally as important, and an employer would be keen to see your CV demonstrate both hard and soft skills.

Examples of soft skills that an employer would see as essential to have in order to function well in the workplace are – communication, team working, problem solving, diligence, work ethic, and organisation. Without these standard soft skills an applicant would struggle to become an effective employee, and integrate into the company and become a key team member.

Our articles will aim to provide guidance on how you can demonstrate the right soft skills on your CV. Your commercial awareness would also be an important skill/knowledge to have, and cannot be simply stated as having on your CV without the evidence to back it up. Using the right keywords and terminology on your CV can create that proof of commercial awareness, and attract the attention of the hiring manager who is not just looking for the expected qualifications and hard skills.

We also offer additional help for school leavers struggling to write their very first CV. Demonstrating soft skills on a school leavers CV will be of the utmost importance due to the lack of work experience. The secret to writing an impressive school leavers CV will come down to the importance placed on the relevant soft skills.

An employer will be well aware of the lack of work experience when advertising an entry level position, so the quality of the CV will make a huge difference to who is called in for an interview. With little work experience the candidate needs to provide lots of evidence which clearly shows they are ready for a working environment.