Five Important Soft Skills to Build in College

By Indhika, IvyWise College Admissions Counselor

Having natural leadership talents, being team-oriented, excelling in high-pressure situations, resolving interpersonal conflict, and effectively engaging diverse audiences are all examples of soft skills that are crucial for success in the workplace and academia. Hiring managers and admissions committees use your resume, cover letter, essays, and interview responses to gauge what types of soft skills you possess. Let’s examine five important soft skills you can build in college and the professional outcomes from utilizing them.

#1 Leadership

Strong leaders combine vision with strategic goal-setting and high-level decision-making. This includes being able to set short- and long-term targets, prioritize tasks, and delegate responsibilities. Leadership is also exemplified in the successful management of teams. Promoting cohesiveness, collaboration, and shared goals enables a positive work culture and drives outcomes. To optimize team management, leaders will regularly check in with departments to benchmark progress, establish clear channels of communication, identify and troubleshoot obstacles, and provide additional resources and training as needed.

Successful leaders also inspire, empower, and motivate their teams, fostering collective investment in their vision. This combination of operational skills with team-oriented approaches ensures that a company’s growth goes hand-in-hand with staff development.

Leadership roles in college include a range of contexts, from presiding over student organizations to captaining sports teams to managing group assignments for class. No matter how big or small you think your leadership role was, you learned lessons that are applicable to professional environments and graduate cohorts. If you’re planning to apply to an MBA program, for example, leadership experience is an important quality for admission.

#2 Communication

As you explore communication skills, you have many aspects to consider. Most obviously, strong communicators can express themselves clearly and effectively, both to diverse groups of stakeholders and within an organization. They are empathetic and authentic, giving and receiving feedback in a positive manner. And while they understand the power of words, they also pay attention to nonverbal cues including body language and gestures. These types of communication skills are helpful across sectors, but they are especially valuable in people-oriented jobs, including fundraising, marketing, diplomacy, and entrepreneurial roles.

Another important aspect of communication is strong writing skills, which you will build as you progress through college. Distilling high-level research into academic papers, for example, helps you communicate efficiently and succinctly. This translates into the professional world by allowing you to synthesize organizational objectives and achievements in reports and brochures, and engage partners and clients via email correspondence.

In addition, translating technical information to audiences with varied training and backgrounds is extremely important. Using digital presentation platforms and software — technology you may very well use in the classroom — to highlight the most important takeaways from research and data analysis makes it much more likely that your recommendations will be adopted.

#3 Adaptability

Fast adapters are able to quickly immerse themselves in new professional environments, understanding what is expected of them, optimizing available resources and supports, connecting with team members and colleagues, and smoothly navigating organizational structures. These individuals discern how an organization’s mission and philosophy are manifested in programmatic objectives and at the personnel level. They are quick to fit in and are often particularly good at onboarding new staff and team members.

Adaptability is also manifested in the ability to quickly pivot when encountering challenges and shifting circumstances. Changing roles to meet team needs, taking on new responsibilities, identifying and aligning with modified goals, addressing setbacks, and creatively utilizing limited resources are examples of valuable adapter traits. Think of the often-asked interview and essay question, “Tell us how you handled a difficult situation.” Demonstrating your adaptability and resilience is the key to an effective response.

College is full of opportunities to try new things, whether it’s taking different classes, joining student clubs, or meeting new people. The more you expose yourself to new experiences, the more adaptable you become. Additionally, you will continually face new situations and challenges, so learning to adjust and stay open-minded will help you build this skill.

#4 Collaboration

“Be a team player!” From an early age, we are reminded of the value of putting a team’s success above our own. Team sports, group assignments, and student committees are great opportunities for learning to work together effectively and developing a team-oriented mindset.

To highlight what you bring to a team, do not rely simply on general statements about “having a collaborative approach” in your cover letter or application essay. You should integrate tangible outcomes and achievements from collaboration across application components, including resumes and interview responses. If you have significant experience working on cross-functional teams, what techniques did you use to integrate multidisciplinary knowledge? Did you take the initiative to serve as a liaison between teams? Did you facilitate regular communication and information sharing? Did you play a key role in resolving issues between teams and/or team members? Are you known for intentionally including all team members and ensuring their perspectives are heard?

Collaboration skills combine emotional intelligence and management techniques. People who excel in this area bolster an organization’s innovation, motivation, and connectivity.

#5 Multicultural Competencies

Working across cultures, internationally and in diverse teams, necessitates a deep understanding of yourself and mindful behavior in the workplace. Be aware of your cultural, familial, and personal background and show openness and a positive attitude to others. In addition, make sure you combine important technical skills with valuable perspectives and mindsets. For example, if you possess language skills, make sure you combine this with a broader recognition of navigating cultural nuances and local context.

At the organizational level, valuing diversity and upholding equity should be guiding principles for hiring, onboarding, managing, and promoting staff. This creates positive work cultures and enhances organizational outcomes. If you are part of these processes, you may have recommended strategies to enhance pipelines for diverse candidates and discerned and amplified underrepresented communities and perspectives.

At the individual level, you are deliberate in using culturally sensitive and inclusive language in written and verbal communication. Organizations and universities are increasingly committed to understanding what kind of community member you will be. This may include sharing relevant aspects of your lived experience, understanding your role as an ally, being open to feedback, and committing to ongoing self-reflection and growth.

Throughout college you will participate in a multitude of applied experiences — group assignments, extracurricular activities, research and lab projects, athletic involvement, internships, and study abroad programs. Whether you are working in a group or taking on an intensive individual assignment, consider whether you are building skills in the areas examined above.

In addition, you may have encountered situations or circumstances in your personal life where you have developed and demonstrated these important soft skills. While you may not be able to list this on your resume, there may be opportunities to share more on these aspects in college admissions essays and interviews.

Identifying relevant opportunities and resources on campus can sometimes feel like a daunting task. IvyWise’s academic advising services can help you get the most out of your college experience so you can build a strong foundation for your professional career. From assisting with course selection to helping you find internships and summer experiences, our academic advisors ensure your success. Contact us to schedule a free discovery call to learn more about our services for college students.