by Giovanna Percontino, Communication Career Coach

So, you say you have no skills? Well, believe it or not, you do! You’ve got all kinds of skills.

Soft Skills

Let’s start with the soft skills, the ones you use, improve, and embrace every single day. You’re in class 10 minutes prior to the start time and you are punctual. You’ve never missed a class, so you’re reliable. You never make excuses for yourself, so you’re responsible.  

These are just a few of the soft skills that are needed in the 21st-century workforce. Technology will also drive other soft skills that today’s workers will need to be successful. Are you agile? Are you flexible about your work? Can you be collaborative and creative?  

Hard Skills

Soft skills may be the skills that are the foundations of who you are as a person, but when looking for a job and considering yourself for a role in an organization, what hard skills are in your 21st-century toolbox?  Hard skills speak to your ability to use software, the tools of your trade, or specific equipment. Let’s make the skills section of your resume highlight the most useful and in-demand capabilities that you possess. Now let’s figure out how to get hard skills. Can you take a class? Are you learning hard skills in your general education or degree courses? What if you’re not? 

How to Gain New Hard Skills

Adobe Creative Skills, micro-certifications, and free online courses from Coursera or paid courses from Grow with Google can help you supplement in-class knowledge and skill up what you already know. You can develop new competencies with specific applications. 

With Adobe Creative Skills, you can earn badges from Adobe through the University of Utah that are fast and free. In the Adobe Creative Cloud, you can access apps, services, and resources for any creative project. You can enroll in a self-paced course and gain industry skills that will earn you a badge to showcase your completion and skills ability.  

Grow with Google can help you prepare for a career in an in-demand field and includes courses such as data analytics and UX design. A Microsoft Certification, like Excel or PowerPoint, can help you enhance your starter skills, and most courses are free, include projects, and help you build upon your previous knowledge. The point is, that you build on your in-class foundational skills and dig deeper.  

Why Gain New Hard Skills?

A recent study concluded that 95 percent of employers think it’s a good thing that workers are earning micro-credentials and supplementing their hard skills. This kind of learning supports a growth mindset and proves you are a proactive learner. So, skill up! Developing your soft and hard skills not only benefits you, but also leads to a robust skills section on your resume, and that will help get you the phone call for the interview.