How much do you value your ability to communicate, be part of a team or manage your time effectively? Do you recognise these as important skills?
Soft skills are becoming increasingly important, making them just as necessary as having technical or ‘hard’ skills.
Hiring managers will often spend more time focusing on your soft, interpersonal skills rather than your technical skills. You may find this frustrating, as hard skills take lots of time to master, but soft skills are just as important in 2022.
What are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are also sometimes referred to as transferable skills or interpersonal skills. These are the type of skills which are more closely linked to your personality, qualities and how you behave as a person.
These types of skills include: communication, resilience, empathy, problem-solving, time management, leadership, flexibility, responsibility and self-motivation (to name a few).
Why are Soft Skills Important When Working in the Public Sector?
As you will probably already know, there are many different areas which make up the public sector:
- Local Government
- Central Government
- Government Agencies
- Armed Forces
- Healthcare
- Emergency Services
- Schools, Further Education and Higher Education
- Charities
To name a few.
Working in the public sector means that you have a direct impact in making a difference to people in our society. The public sector is all about people and having ‘soft’ people skills is important to create both personal, professional and organisational success.
Some say your soft skills will even determine your level of success at an organisation! Fear not, here's the 4 essential soft skills for success in the public sector.
4 Essential Soft Skills for Success in the Public Sector
1. Written Communication
Whether it's writing emails or reports, being able to write both clearly and concisely will anable you to communicate with anyone from your colleagues to the general public.
2. Verbal Communication
Being able to speak clearly and retain the attention of your audience is key for presentations and pitches or even leading a meeting and bonding with co-workers.
3. Leadership
Knowing how to manage and motivate your team is crucial to unlocking potential, improving performance and increasing productivity.
4. Problem Solving & Persuasion
Having the ability to react to problems quickly while remaining composed, persuasive and using negotiation tips for the best outcome shows how well you can work in a high-pressure situation.
Share or save this handy graphic below to remember the 4 key soft skills for success. Tell us how you're going to improve these essential soft skills on Twitter by tagging us @UModernGov or find us on LinkedIn.
Want to Find out More and Learn How to Apply These Skills?
We've got a range of upcoming courses that will help develop your soft skills as a public sector professional. View the full list and book a place here.
