How to Talk About Your Soft Skills (Without Sounding Like Everyone Else)

You’ve probably heard that employers care just as much about soft skills, communication, adaptability, leadership, as they do about technical expertise. But when it comes time to talk about those skills in an interview or on your resume, it’s easy to fall into vague, overused phrases like “team player” or “strong communicator.” The problem? Everyone says that. The key is learning how to show, not just tell.

The most effective way to highlight soft skills is through specific, real-life examples. Instead of saying you’re “great under pressure,” tell the story of a tight deadline you had to meet, how you organized your time, communicated with your team, and what the result was. If you want to highlight your adaptability, talk about how you took on new responsibilities during a company reorg, or stepped up when a teammate left unexpectedly.

Another way to differentiate yourself is to link your soft skills directly to business outcomes. For instance, maybe your ability to build strong client relationships led to a 15% increase in repeat business. Or your attention to detail helped catch a critical error before it reached a customer. These are the kinds of details that stick with hiring managers.

When you’re working with a recruiter, they can help you identify the soft skills that are most valued in the industry you’re targeting and help you craft your story in a way that feels authentic and impactful. At The Hollister Group, we work with candidates to translate real experiences into compelling talking points, so that when you say you’re a “problem solver,” you’ve got the receipts to back it up.