The most in-demand soft skills for 2023: How many do you have?

Employees must become indispensable to their employers during uncertain economic times. Similar to this, applicants for new positions must show that they have the most advantageous traits and technical skills.

While hard skills have a role to play in this, difficult times are when soft skills really shine. Read on to find out which soft skills hiring managers are looking for and how soft skills affect their hiring decisions, according to Michael Page’s recent survey of 1,000 UK hiring managers.

Soft skills vs hard skills

Many different professions could benefit from having soft skills. They are frequently referred to as “people skills” because they are character traits and interpersonal abilities that influence our relationships with others. Examples of soft skills include the ability to communicate, work in a team, and handle stress.

Soft skills are continuously improved through targeted instruction, coaching, and practical experience. New skills are also acquired.

Every candidate possesses some “natural” soft skills, but all hard skills must be learned. No one of us is born with the capacity to code, disassemble, and reassemble an automobile engine, or speak multiple languages. Although they can also be learned “on the job,” hard skills are typically taught through formal education or pre-planned training programs.

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Knowing which soft skills employers value the most is in your best interests. It will enable you to hone the skills that hiring managers are looking for and guarantee that your company sees you as a valuable team member.

Top 10 soft skills in demand for 2023

We have already looked at some common examples of soft skills. But which soft skills will help you differentiate yourself from other professionals in your field? To find out, we asked hiring managers to choose up to five soft skills from a list of 16 popular ones that they consider important when conducting candidate interviews.

More than one-third (35%) of respondents chose “communication,” which came out on top. Strong communication abilities are valued across all age groups, with hiring managers citing them as one of the top two soft skills.

“Willingness to learn” was rated as the second-most in-demand soft skill, cited by 34% of hiring managers, followed by “teamwork”, with 33%. Interestingly, teamwork was especially valued by hiring managers in the 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 age ranges, with both choosing it as their number one soft skill. In contrast, it was only chosen by one-quarter (24%) of 18 to 24-year-olds and one-fifth (21%) of 25 to 34-year-olds.

Here is our full list of the top 10 soft skills in demand for 2023:

  1. Communication: Cited by 35% of respondents
  2. Willingness to learn: 34%
  3. Teamwork: 33%
  4. Enthusiasm: 30%
  5. Problem-solving: 27%
  6. Friendliness: 25%
  7. Flexibility: 24%
  8. Respectfulness: 23%
  9. Self-confidence: 21%
  10. Sense of humour; Sincerity: 20%

What are the least in-demand soft skills?

All soft skills are important to some extent, but our respondents made it clear that some are more valuable than others.

Two skills were largely overlooked by hiring managers: “chattiness” and “selflessness”. Each was cited by just 10% of those we surveyed, although selflessness was named as a valuable skill by 17% of the youngest respondents (aged 18 to 24).

Somewhat surprisingly, “empathy” was rated as one of the least in-demand soft skills, cited by just 17% of all hiring managers. However, there was a noticeable age-based divide here, with 19% of respondents aged 35+ naming empathy in their top five, compared to just 11% of those aged 34 or younger. This may suggest that older managers are more likely to have seen the benefits of empathy over the course of longer careers and are therefore more likely to value it as a soft skill.

Here is the full list of the least in-demand soft skills, according to the hiring managers we surveyed:

  1. Chattiness; Selflessness: 10%
  2. The ability to own up to something they don’t know: 15%
  3. Growth mindset: 16%
  4. Empathy: 17%

Why soft skills are important

Simply put, when it comes to the interview stage, soft skills can make all the difference.

Hard skills typically determine if a hiring manager is interested in learning more about you. Hard skill-deficient candidates are very unlikely to advance to the interview stage. However, according to the hiring managers we polled, soft skills become far more crucial once you’ve been invited for an interview.

More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents agreed with the statement: “I am on the lookout for much more than just technical attributes when someone sits down for an interview.” What’s more, almost two-thirds (62%) said they have previously hired someone who demonstrated superior soft skills over a candidate who was better qualified, with one-fifth (20%) revealing they had done so “many times”.

Yet it appears some candidates are unaware of the value hiring managers place in soft skills. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of our respondents said candidates often forget to demonstrate the important soft skills for the role they are interviewing for, while the same proportion agreed that they dislike when candidates are too granular about their technical skills and qualifications.

Which soft skills will be most important in the future?

Finally, we gave hiring managers the opportunity to predict the most valuable skills for the future. Specifically, we asked them to pick the most valuable options from a list of 11 “future skills”.

Our respondents were near-unanimous in choosing “resourcefulness” as the most important future skill, with 48% citing it as important. “Critical thinking” and “open-mindedness” also received widespread support. On the other hand, two traits — “individuality” (26%) and “social/political activism” (14%) — were broadly overlooked. However, they were far more likely to be cited by two demographic groups: 35 to 44-year-olds, and hiring managers based in London.

Here is our full list of future skills, in descending order of popularity:

  1. Resourcefulness: Cited by 48% of respondents
  2. Critical thinking: 45%
  3. Open-mindedness: 44%
  4. Creative mindset: 41%
  5. Social intelligence: 38%
  6. Emotional intelligence: 37%
  7. Transparency: 34%
  8. Innovation: 33%
  9. Conflict resolution: 29%
  10. Individuality: 26%
  11. Social/political activism: 14%