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Soft skills on a resume is a classic conundrum. Writing "time management" or "creativity" on your resume on its own doesn't mean anything. At the same time, I constantly hear that soft skills are often what make or break a new hire, so it's critical to be able to communicate them during the hiring process.

So... what do you do?

If you want to demonstrate soft skills here are a few things to consider:

1️⃣ Create resume bullet points that point to when you've used the soft skill (e.g. “Led a team of 13 people to plan and execute an event that reached double the number of expected participants” vs. “Leadership skills”)
2️⃣ Utilize your cover letter to go deeper on storytelling! This is an opportunity that I see get missed a LOT. Rather than reiterating your resume, use the cover letter to tell a few in-depth stories of when you've had to solve a problem quickly, work with a diverse set of stakeholders, or learn a new skill quickly.
3️⃣ How you show up during the hiring and interview process also is a great way to demonstrate your soft skills. For example:

⭐ Being timely in your email response --> organized
⭐ Writing a short, but thoughtful thank you note --> strong written communication
⭐ Effective storytelling in an interview --> verbal communication + understanding your audience

Looking for more resume best practices? Check out our full toolkit below!

Tired of the ghosting and doom scrolling on LinkedIn, Handshake, and Indeed?

Same here. My team and I have been building Forward, a job-matching platform to help Gen Z get hired. How? With human-driven matches that are skills-based and values-based.

We are THRILLED to announce that we are launching our live pilot this summer! Between the end of May to July, pilot job seekers will receive (all for free):

Applications are closing Friday! We would love to invite you since you’ve been following our journey as early as day one.

I’m having conversations with recruiters, hiring managers, and other talent decision-makers weekly, and want to share tidbits of what I’m learning with y’all here too! 

To clarify, we aren’t talking about using AI to fabricate an application or show up as a deepfake to an interview. But she encourages applicants to use AI to more quickly tailor a resume, do research on a company, or practice interview questions.

She shared one example of a stellar candidate who used AI to email the hiring managers for a job that they had posted. She had spotted that the email address that sent the note came from an AI tool that automatically sends email messages on behalf of the candidate.

She said that she wasn’t as bothered by the email, actually found it impressive, but that it was even more important to validate that the candidate had the experience that the email outreach claimed.

Not everyone will feel this way! There will be plenty of hiring managers and recruiters who are NOT into this. But given that she works at a tech company, she’s open to seeing the responsible and ethical ways that candidates leverage AI.

Job searching is hard work. You deserve a break. Here’s how I took time to rest and recharge this week!

Been breaking the Amazon habit and ordering from other sites, including Thrift Books! Most recent purchase was Unaccustomed Earth (stay tuned for my thoughts!) ahead of the Netflix series that is eventually coming.

PS - The best part of not ordering on Amazon, is that you forget you bought yourself something because it doesn’t show up in 48 hours, and it’s like getting a surprise treat from your past self!

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Thanks for showing up this week! We appreciate you. See y’all same time next week!