Personal skills: Definition, examples, and tips for improvement
Your career success depends on more than just technical expertise. You also need soft skills such as communicating well with people and keeping yourself motivated. Whether you're trying to find a job or advance your career, developing strong personal skills can help you achieve your goals.
We answer the question "What are personal skills?" and provide useful tips on how to improve them. The topics we'll cover include:
- What are personal skills?
- Why are personal skills important?
- Personal skills examples
- How to display personal skills in the workplace
- Conclusion
- FAQs
What are personal skills?
Also known as soft skills, personal skills can make you a good communicator, strong team player, or effective leader. They can improve your ability to thrive in your workplace. They increase your value as an employee. These skills are important in today's fast-paced, competitive work environment.
According to a The Star article, 88% of Malaysian employers in a survey said that employees with excellent soft skills are worth their weight in gold. So, if you want to land the job you desire or boost your career growth, it's essential to improve your personal skills.
Developing personal skills is the process of acquiring and improving personality traits that can enhance your interactions and your ability to do your job well. One example of a personal skill is time management. This skill can help you meet deadlines and complete tasks according to expectations.
Personal skills are intangible, unlike technical skills. Employers can assess hard skills based on educational qualifications and practical experience. Since personal skills are harder to define, they can be more challenging to learn.
Why are personal skills important?
Personal skills play a vital role in your professional growth and success. They can help you interact with team members, colleagues, supervisors, and customers, resulting in more effective communication and collaboration. This improves camaraderie and teamwork in the workplace. With good personal skills, you can make a positive impression and gain career advancement opportunities.
Employers value job seekers and employees with strong personal skills. Such individuals can be valuable assets to their companies. They can help an organisation operate smoothly, adapt to changes, and deliver better project outcomes. They're also generally more confident and passionate about their work. They can motivate themselves to maintain high levels of performance.
Personal skills examples
The personal skills you use at work depend on your role and interactions with other people. These key personal skills can help you stand out in your workplace:
Communication
Communication is a critical personal skill that determines how well you share and receive messages. An effective communicator exchanges information and ideas to help reduce misunderstandings and inefficiencies. This can improve teamwork and productivity and contribute to a positive work environment. To become a good communicator, you must know how to simplify complex topics and make them as easy to understand as possible. Also, it's essential to practise nonverbal communication to show that you're engaged and approachable.
If you already have strong communication skills, it's a good idea to showcase them in your resume. You can highlight your communication skills in your resume summary, a separate skills section, or your professional experience.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the ability to work with others to achieve a common goal. This important skill can help a team work smoothly and effectively to complete tasks and projects. To be an effective collaborator, you must understand the perspectives of different team members, manage priorities, and deliver quality work on time.
Time management
Good time management skills can make you more productive and improve your overall work performance. They make you more reliable and easier to work with, which can increase your value in your workplace. You can improve your time management skills by prioritising your responsibilities, starting tasks early, and setting firm deadlines.
Motivation
A self-motivated employee wants to perform well and grow in their career. They also have confidence in their abilities, so they can work independently and save the company time and resources. There are many ways to keep yourself motivated at work, including challenging yourself to perform better, learning new skills, and celebrating your accomplishments.
Problem-solving
Good problem-solvers understand how issues arise and take prompt measures to resolve them. They can come up with realistic solutions to help an organisation make effective decisions. To develop your problem-solving skills, gather information about the issue and use logic and intuition to devise solutions. It's also important to keep your emotions under control.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking refers to reasoning, evaluating information, and making informed decisions. It's a useful skill that can help companies solve complex problems and improve processes. If you want to be an effective critical thinker, research thoroughly, analyse data, manage risks and rewards, and consider all possible options and outcomes.
Active listening
Communication is a two-way process. You can practise active listening to ensure that you fully comprehend messages. This skill can help prevent confusion and misunderstandings to ensure smooth workflows. You can become a better listener by focusing on what the speaker is saying and retaining more information. Also, ask follow-up questions to confirm that you understand the message.
Leadership
Leadership is an important skill for managing teams and projects. It helps teams work harmoniously to achieve the best possible outcomes. Being a leader goes beyond providing guidance and delegating work. You also need to lead by example and take accountability when necessary.
Adaptability
If you're adaptable, you can embrace change and face new challenges with a positive attitude. Adaptability is a valued skill because it can help companies adopt new processes and technologies. You can boost your adaptability skills by being willing to step outside your comfort zone, shifting your priorities, and staying positive when plans change.
Teamwork
A strong team player can relate, communicate, and collaborate with others to reach shared objectives. You can use teamwork skills to complete group tasks, support your teammates, and resolve conflicts. To work well in a team, you need to respect everyone's opinions and ideas, help others with their work, contribute to group decision-making, and offer constructive feedback to your peers.
Management
Management skills can help you oversee and guide people and projects more effectively. It's vital to an organisation's success as it can lead to increased productivity and profitability. To improve your management skills, you can cultivate self-awareness, become a good communicator, build trust with your team, and strengthen your decision-making.
Empathy
An empathetic person understands how others feel and acts tactfully in challenging situations. They can help their co-workers maintain good relationships with one another, resulting in a healthy work environment. To show empathy at work, you should develop your listening skills, challenge your biases, approach problems from different perspectives, and be willing to help.
Attention to detail
Having attention to detail means being able to consider the specifics and complete tasks accurately. This skill can help you improve your productivity and efficiency at work. You can develop good attention to detail by getting organised, creating lists of tasks, maintaining a routine, and prioritising quality.
How to display personal skills in the workplace
Demonstrating your personal skills at work can set you apart from your colleagues and accelerate your career growth. Follow these tips to display your soft skills:
Be respectful to others
Showing respect towards your colleagues is a great way to foster a positive work environment. Make it a point to compliment them when they do their jobs well and thank them when they help you. For example, if you disagree with a teammate during a brainstorming session, you can resolve the dispute by thanking them for bringing new ideas and providing constructive feedback.
Be empathetic
Pay attention to your co-workers' mood and offer comfort whenever they feel down. Listening to their problems or simply making them coffee can elevate their mood. If you see a teammate struggling with their workload, consider helping them out if you have the time.
Stay calm under pressure
Composure under pressure can contribute to a calm and positive work environment. You can stay composed in stressful situations by moderating your emotions, communicating clearly, and prioritising tasks. For example, if an unexpected project issue arises, you can help your team members calm down and focus on solving the problem.
Engage with your colleagues
Interacting with your co-workers strengthens your relationships and enhances team dynamics. You can engage with your colleagues by chatting with them during breaks, participating in discussions, and offering constructive feedback.
Conclusion
Strong personal skills can help you stand out in today's tough Malaysian job market. If you're employed, these skills can make you more valuable to the company. It's essential to engage in continuous learning and skill refinement if you want to improve your performance and stay relevant at work. Set goals, identify resources, and actively develop your personal skillset to take your career to the next level.
FAQs
The following is a list of questions people often ask about personal skills:
- What are personal skills, and why are they important on a resume? Personal skills are intangible traits that can help you communicate, complete tasks, and solve problems more effectively. Make sure you mention these skills in your resume, as they can improve your job prospects. Malaysian employers favour job seekers with strong soft skills.
- How do I identify my personal skills? To create a list of your personal skills, think about what helped you succeed in your previous jobs, review your most recent performance appraisal, or use an online soft skill assessment tool.
- Can you give me examples of personal skills for my resume? The personal skills list on your resume may include communication, active listening, problem-solving, time management, leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, adaptability, and attention to detail.
- What's the best way to describe personal skills in a resume sentence? When you're writing your personal skills in sentences in your resume, use action verbs and quantifiable metrics. For example:
"Streamlined digital communication processes, resulting in a 35% reduction in email overload."
"Led a remote team of eight, improving overall project efficiency by 30% through strategic use of online collaboration tools."
- Are there specific keywords I should include when listing personal skills on my resume? If you want to get your resume noticed, include soft skills and action verbs that match the job description. Also, avoid using vague or generic phrases such as "team player" or "good communication skills." Instead, make sure your keywords are specific and descriptive, such as "collaborative leader" or "persuasive speaker."
- Can you show me a sample resume with personal skills included? Check out this article to find out how to include personal skills in a resume.
- Do employers value personal skills more than technical skills? Many employers prefer job seekers with good personal skills, even if they have less experience or fewer technical skills than other applicants. That's because soft skills are usually inherent and harder to develop.
- What are the most sought-after personal skills in today's job market? According to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the five most in-demand personal skills for today's workplace are communication, leadership, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and teamwork.
- How can I stand out from other job applicants by showcasing my personal skills? You can stand out from other job seekers by including relevant keywords about your personal skills in your resume, mentioning in your cover letter how you previously demonstrated strong soft skills, and highlighting your skills during interviews.
