Hard skills vs soft skills: what’s the difference?

Hard skills and soft skills play different roles in a job application. Hard skills are specific to the job and help employers understand the tangible benefits and value you bring to the role. However, soft skills highlight your character traits and interpersonal skills.

Read on to learn more about hard skills vs soft skills, the difference between the two and how to list them on your CV with Adobe Express.

What are hard skills and soft skills?

When adding your skills to a CV or cover letter, each one will typically fall into two categories – hard and soft.

• Hard skills or ‘technical skills’ are one of the fundamental things employers look for when hiring. Essentially, they demonstrate the technical skills needed to perform a particular job.
• Soft skills or ‘transferable skills’ are the general skills employers look for. They’re based on personality and character traits and are less specific to a role.

What are the differences between hard and soft skills?

Hard skills are typically job-related and feature the necessary skills needed to complete a job. While soft skills relate to your personal qualities and traits and impact how you work. Though they serve different purposes for employers, they are both equally as important.

There are 5 main differences between hard skills and soft skills:

• Hard skills are concrete and measurable, while soft skills can be harder to quantify.
• Hard skills are formally learned through exams and work experience, while soft skills are often personal traits that naturally develop – though you can still improve your soft skills.
• Hard skills are needed to perform a specific job, while soft skills demonstrate your character, ability to work with others and grow within the organisation.
• Soft skills can be transferred across most roles, while hard skills are often industry specific.
• Hard skills are usually prioritised in a job description or ad as must-have requirements. Soft skills are then listed as additional nice-to-haves.

Hard and soft skills examples.

There are many types of hard skills and soft skills, we’ve listed a couple of examples below.

Hard skills examples.

• Speaking a foreign language
• Having a specific healthcare licence
• Website development skills
• Ability to work with specialist tools or machinery
• Data analysis skills
• Having a degree
• Computer skills
• Proofreading
• Copywriting
• Project management
• Computer programming
• Graphic design
• Coding.

Soft skills examples.

• Communication
• Critical thinking
• Ability to adapt
• Organisation
• Time-keeping
• Creativity
• Problem solving
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Attention to detail
• Strategic thinking
• Social skills
• Strong work ethic
• Confidence.

How to list soft and hard skills for a CV.

Whether you’re writing a CV with no prior experience, or you’re looking for tips to help your application stand out, here’s how to list soft and hard skills on your CV.

Adding hard skills to a CV.

You can add a dedicated skills section to your CV to list out your hard skills. That way, potential employers or recruiters can easily confirm that you have the hard skills the role requires. Therefore, it may be worth listing any hard skills which are in high demand here as you may have a better chance of landing the job.

Adding soft skills to your CV.

You may want to mention any soft skills when describing each of your previous roles. Again, these should be relevant to the role you’re applying for. For example, if the job description states they are looking for someone who is organised and can meet deadlines, you may want to mention any instances where you demonstrated these skills during your previous roles.

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Good to know.

What is the most challenging soft skill?

A lot of soft skills such as flexibility and confidence can be challenging to build, as unlike hard skills, they often cannot be taught by simply reading a book. Instead, these traits tend to be developed over time or are something you find you’re just naturally good at. Of course, you can still improve your soft skills, just as you can improve your hard skills.

Are hard skills more important than soft skills?

Hard skills are a set of skills you need to complete a job, while soft skills relate to your personal qualities and the way you work. Both are just as important and can be the key to a successful career in any industry.

Is empathy a soft skill?

Yes, empathy is a soft skill. In fact, empathy is often considered a core component of a successful leader. Having a manager who is empathetic means they can relate to other members of the team and communicate with employees effectively.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, our free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 5GB of storage. See our pricing page for details and to compare plans.