Graduate students preparing for employability must ensure that they have developed two sets of skills that employers and recruiters are looking for on resumes/vitas. These skills serve as indicators that a graduate student can perform the job and be successful. There are two sets of skills that employers and recruiters are looking for: soft (also known as transferrable) skills and hard (also known as technical) skills. Soft skills, just like hard skills are known as “resume key words,” which are important to have on your resume, as many small and large companies are using application tracking systems (ATS) and algorithms to rank applicants’ qualifications for the job opening. To be a successful applicant, a graduate student will have earned their Ohio State degree while having developed soft and hard skills in tandem.
Hard/technical skills
Hard/technical skills, for the purpose of this website, will be referred to as hard skills. They are learned in class as part of the graduate student’s degree program or through certificates, digital badges or previous jobs. Hard skills are job-specific and include the expertise that the employer expects their employee to have. They can be defined or evaluated in some way and usually form the basis for the job requirement. Hard skills can include, but are not limited to, such things as:
- Web and mobile development skills.
- Creative cloud computing solutions to manage integrated environments, store and secure data and migrate information from onsite servers to the cloud.
- Scientific computing, which uses computer simulations to solve complex problems.
- Technical skills, such as data mining, analytics, HTML, data analysis, SaaS in cloud, coding, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, etc.
- AI is a technology for researching new capabilities/systems, developing Al software, processes and hardware.
- Data analysis skills.
- AI literacy.
- Writing skills.
- Administrative skills.
- Financial and accounting skills, such as bookkeeping, IT, QuickBooks, GAAP, analytics, auditing, cash flow management, Microsoft Office, risk analysis, etc.
- Foreign language skills.
- Sales and marketing, such as SEO/SEM marketing, social media, outreach, inside sales outbound calling, forecasting, CRM, etc.
It is important for graduate students to remember that when they start their job search, each of the jobs they will apply for has hard skills requirements to ensure success in the job. This means that graduate students need to develop a certain level of proficiency in each of the hard skills required for a specific job. Your graduate education should help you develop these proficiencies. It is expected that after graduation, Buckeyes most likely will need to improve their hard and/or soft skills to advance in their career. They also understand that they most likely will need to learn new skills within the next year to continue within their current job. Today, many companies, industries and organizations are committed to investing in reskilling or upskilling their employees. These are important things to consider when looking at position openings.
IMPORTANT: Depending on the degree graduate students are completing and the position they are seeking, some positions, such as technical or engineering positions, might have a higher demand for hard skills, and therefore focus more on providing these skills to graduate students over soft skills.
Soft/transferrable skills
Soft skills, which have also been identified as transferable skills, and career readiness skills can best be defined as attributes and interpersonal skills that are characteristic of being in a relationship with others. Soft skills help people to be successful in their workplace, and include such things as communication, mentoring, negotiation, following instructions, task management, getting the job done, etc. Soft skills should be viewed as being complementary to hard skills.
The list and definition of these soft skills are from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2019, career-readiness-fact-sheet-jan-2019.pdf). These soft skills are without regard to the career track chosen by the graduate student and are important for the student to develop before graduation. The skills are:
- Critical Thinking/Problem Solving: Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions and overcome problems. The individual can obtain, interpret and use knowledge, facts and data in this process, and may demonstrate originality and inventiveness.
- Oral/Written Communications: Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the organization. The individual has public speaking skills; can express ideas to others; and can write/edit memos, letters and complex technical reports clearly and effectively.
- Teamwork/Collaboration: Build collaborative relationships with colleagues and customers representing diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles and viewpoints. The individual can work within a team structure and can negotiate and manage conflict.
- Digital Technology: Leverage existing digital technologies ethically and efficiently to solve problems, complete tasks and accomplish goals. The individual demonstrates effective adaptability to new and emerging technologies.
- Leadership: Leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. The individual can assess and manage his/her emotions and those of others; use empathetic skills to guide and motivate; and organize, prioritize and delegate work.
- Professionalism/Work Ethic: Demonstrate personal accountability and effective work habits, e.g., punctuality, working productively with others, and time workload management, and understand the impact of nonverbal communication on professional work image. The individual demonstrates integrity and ethical behavior, acts responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind, and can learn from his/her mistakes.
- Career Management: Identify and articulate one's skills, strengths, knowledge and experiences relevant to the position desired and career goals and identify areas necessary for professional growth. The individual can navigate and explore job options, understand and can take the steps necessary to pursue opportunities, and understand how to self-advocate for opportunities in the workplace.
- Global/Intercultural Fluency: Value, respect and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations and religions. The individual demonstrates openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand individuals’ differences.
These general soft skills need to be acquired by graduate students concurrently with the hard skills. More universities today are finding ways to incorporate soft skill development into their curriculum, such as digital skill development. Workshops and seminars offered on and off campus can serve as alternative education resources to curriculum for general soft skill development. In a job market with growing competition, it is important that graduate students have developed and can talk about their acquired general soft skills, regardless of their career choice.
Soft skills become important when graduate students apply and interview, as recruiters are increasingly looking for these skills in applicants to determine what kind of employee the graduate student will be, and if they fit into the culture of the business, company, organization, etc.
Today, the job market continues to be competitive. Recruiters are looking for applicants who have developed these soft skills, which go beyond coursework and technical expertise. Even though coursework and hard skills are important, soft skills have become increasingly important in the workplace, which is why students need to develop these skills while in graduate school to be competitive when job searching.