by Kaitlin McManus | November 08, 2018
Re-posted from Vault

Let me drop a quick truth-bomb on you: the more experience you have, the easier it is to fill your resumé. I know, right? Mind-blowing. If you’ve worked in an industry for years, your resumé should be loaded with quantifiable experience…

But when you’re just starting out…you may not have as much in the way of hard experience. I’m going to let you in on a little secret—it’s okay. You’ve still got a lot going for you: rely on your education, any internship experience you might have, and—perhaps the most underrated part of a resumé—your soft skills. Soft skills are things like leadership capability and work ethic, and they’re important in any job, at any level. Hiring managers want them and, lucky you, you got ‘em. So use them—let them make your resumé stand out from the pile. Soft skills count for more than you might think.

The caveat that comes with soft skills is that listing them makes it sound like you’re trying to tell the hiring manager what they want to hear, especially if you’re pulling attributes off the job posting—which you should be doing, to an extent. The interview is how hiring managers determine if you really are the way that you describe yourself. It’s your opportunity to show that your soft skills aren’t just words on a page—they’re who you are, and they make you the ideal candidate.

READ MORE to learn about the most frequently cited soft skills and how to embody them [in your resume and] at your interview