Soft Skills vs Hard Skills: Which are More Important? – G-Talent.Net

The best example we can give to give an idea of what soft vs hard skills are is to go back to school. Did you also have a teacher that you remember fondly and with appreciation? It often happens that we use a teacher that we liked the way he taught the subject, because in addition to handling the topics very well, he made the class fun and very interesting. These teachers normally develop the ability to transmit knowledge in an entertaining and dynamic way through their passion and talent.

This means that they not only handled the technical part, in this case we are referring to hard skills, but also soft skills, due to their ability to generate empathy, be a great leader and have the ability to motivate the group.

There was also another type of teacher, who was really good at the subject and had the technical tools, but lacked soft skills or the ability to keep the group focused and interested in the subject. This made the classes boring, even frustrating and demotivating. This means that they had developed the hard skills, but they lacked the soft skills to establish a connection with the group.

Which leads us to wonder : What is the difference between soft vs hard skills? Which ones are more important? Read on to answer these very important questions that will be transferred to the professional field today and what companies are looking for.

What are Hard Skills?

Hard skills are functional, technical and measurable competencies. Some of these are: mathematics, writing, accounting, reading, programming languages, etc. They can also be specific knowledge about a subject, for example: human anatomy, universal history, foreign languages, etc.

These skills can be assessed and measured through examinations or technical tests. In turn, these are acquired through a learning process, either from experience or in professional institutions. In short, these are the technical abilities of a professional, which are those that allow us to carry out a certain job or task.

What are Soft Skills?

Soft skills, on the other hand, are not so easy to measure objectively, and can be related to personal skills, such as leadership, teamwork, emotional intelligence or the ability to inspire an audience. They can even be very personal, for example: self-control, the ability to concentrate, or to adapt to certain situations.

Soft skills, due to their subjectivity, are more difficult to measure through tests with defined criteria, so when it comes to determining whether or not one has a soft skill, it is more complicated than if one wants to know the level of proficiency in a programming language or a particular hard skill.

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Soft vs. Hard Skills: Which is More Important?

Both types of skills are definitely important. Most professions require specific, developed hard skills, because without them you couldn't do the job. But soft skills also help you develop and use hard skills successfully.

If a firefighter is highly trained to put out fires (hard skills), but has not developed teamwork (soft skills), he may be suitable, but if he does not collaborate as a team, he will most likely not be able to achieve his objectives alone.

Therefore, we can answer this question by saying that both skills are necessary to carry out tasks; we can say that they complement each other and are necessary to achieve success in an activity.

What is the importance of soft skills for companies?

In today's highly competitive world, with a great access to information and so many experience options, where we find a large number of products and services, you will always have to make a difference to stand out. Soft skills are crucial to help you make a difference, such as focusing, managing stress or how you address your clients can make the difference between success and failure.

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Without a doubt, going back to the example at the beginning, the most successful person when teaching was the teacher who had the ability to combine both hard and soft skills. This is undoubtedly an advantage for the professional; you can handle a topic very well, but if you don't know how to communicate, you won't be able to make yourself understood, nor will you be able to present your progress or process in the area of study to the scientific community. For this reason, currently, great importance is given to soft skills, because they give added value to hard skills, and are equally necessary to develop in a specific field.

Conclusions

Both skills can be developed, but soft skills require a different approach. The most important thing is to know your strengths and weaknesses, in order to focus on what you need to work on or improve. And from there you can support your hard skills and help them bring out the best in you.

Currently, both skills are valued for decision-making by the human resources department when choosing candidates for a job position, therefore, it is necessary that they can develop both without distinguishing between either of the two.

We encourage you to continue reading our posts to learn more about the area of personal development. You will find various topics focused on personal motivation, human resources, technology and much more.