• Recognize key career skills useful for any career
• Understand what transferable skills are and why they are valuable
• Understand how to develop skills that match your career goals
• Understand the different stages of career development

Career Skills

There are two main types of skills that employers look for: hard skills and soft skills.

hard skills

Hard skills are concrete or objective abilities or skills that you learn and can often be quantified.

Examples of hard skills are using a computer, speaking a foreign language, or operating a machine. You might earn a certificate, a college degree, or other credentials that prove you have mastered certain hard skills. Because of changes in technology, the hard skills required by industries today are different from those required in the past.

soft skills

Soft skills are personal attributes and interpersonal skills that influence how well a person can work or interact with others.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are subjective skills that have changed very little over time. Such skills might pertain to the way you relate to people, the way you think, or how you behave—for example, listening attentively, working well in groups, and speaking clearly. Soft skills are sometimes also called transferable skills because you can easily transfer them from job to job and they are just as valuable without additional training. However, it is important to remember that while soft skills are broadly consistent even from centuries ago, their specific execution requires continuous learning and recalibrating—especially as the workplace diversifies and workplace culture changes.

Career Readiness

Employers want individuals who have the necessary hard and soft skills to do the job well and adapt to changes in the workplace. Soft skills may be especially in demand today because employers are generally equipped to train new employees in a hard skill—by training them to use new computer software, for instance—but it’s much more difficult to teach an employee a soft skill such as developing rapport with coworkers or knowing how to manage conflict. An employer might rather hire an inexperienced worker who can pay close attention to details than an experienced worker who might cause problems on a work team.

In this section, we look at ways of identifying and building particular hard and soft skills that will be necessary for your career path. We also explain how to use your time and resources wisely to acquire critical skills for your career goals.