Understanding the balance between technical expertise and interpersonal abilities can help you strategically plan your career. Soft, character and interpersonal skills are as important as hard skills, which are skills required to perform specific tasks.
Regarding career advancement, hard and soft skills play essential roles; hence, there is a need to strike a balance ideally.
Think of it this way: hard skills are required to secure a job, and soft skills set you apart, providing the means for you to thrive and progress in your career. Employers usually consider a good mix of both as your highlighted hard skills give them insight into how knowledgeable you are, and your soft skills tell them about your personal positive and functional work culture. Consequently, employers are more inclined to choose employees with proven hard and soft skills.
Now that you understand this, are you asking how you can leverage both skills to your advantage? Let’s explore
Identify which category your acquired skills fall into
Recognizing and being able to categorize your different skills is essential, and even if you don’t have any, it’s vital that you know which hard skills or soft skills will be helpful for you.
Identify what skills your career requires.
This is all about matching your abilities with the demands of your profession. Knowing which skill is appropriate for your role is necessary. It’s not about just building up a skill you need to ensure it perfectly fits into your career.
Develop/hone your skills.
After you are clearly able to distinguish which hard skills/soft skills are required for you, you need to build them up, and if you already have them, it’s necessary that you constantly work towards honing them. Developing/honing your skills is like crafting a masterpiece; it takes time, effort and dedication. By working on both your hard skills (technical abilities) and soft skills (communication, teamwork, etc.), you can create a well-rounded skill set that opens up a world of opportunities for you.
In summary, having a balance of both hard skills and soft skills is very important.