In a competitive job market, it’s essential to know which skills to include on a CV. While “hard” or technical skills will shift depending on industry changes, durable skills will always be valuable and necessary.
But what are durable skills, and why are they important? This post explores four of many durable skills which can enhance your professional development: critical thinking and problem-solving (which relate to creativity and innovation), emotional intelligence (which links to leadership), adaptability, and effective communication (which links to collaboration). We’ll also share some ideas on how to include these in your CV for career success.
What Are Durable Skills?
Durable skills, also referred to as “soft” or employability skills, are an umbrella term for competencies that enable individuals to interact harmoniously with others. While hard skills are necessary, they can become outdated as technology evolves, especially in an age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In contrast, building social and relational skills remains universal and timeless, and appropriate for creating a future-ready workforce.
Durable skills vs soft skills: what’s the difference?
There is no difference between durable skills and soft skills. However, the term “durable” implies longevity, but paradoxically also relates to adopting a lifelong learning approach to acquiring these competencies. Another term for these is “transferable” skills, which means they apply across industries and can be used in any position, regardless of the industry.
Why durable skills belong on your CV
These skills belong on your CV because they can enhance employability and help individuals future-proof their CVs in a rapidly changing job market.
The contemporary job market is complex, and to stay adaptable, it’s essential to develop capabilities that will help navigate this complexity. Therefore, it’s vital to highlight specific skills on your CV to stand out in your field.
Future-ready workforce skills that employers value
We’ve established why durable skills are essential, but what are some examples of the top CV skills to focus on?
In a recent SACAP Global webinar, SACAP Global Durable Human Skills to Enhance Employability, SACAP Dean, Dr Jaclyn Lotter, talks about how she likes to call these types of soft skills “superhuman skills”. Below, we’ll focus on four of them: critical thinking and problem-solving, emotional intelligence, adaptability and effective communication.
1. Critical thinking and problem solving
In an age of complexity with global-level challenges, we need to be more adept at processing data, seeing patterns and honing our critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Machines can perform many tasks, but only humans can solve complex and nuanced challenges using holistic intelligence.
To share an example, developing a marketing campaign requires not only data analysis but also an assessment of social trends and an understanding of how people think and feel about their purchasing decisions. Therefore, these skills relate to creativity and innovation, as they require people to think broadly and come up with new ideas. As Lotter shares in the webinar mentioned above, “human beings will always be at the centre of innovation”.
2. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EQ) involves self-awareness, empathy and social skills and helps to manage interpersonal relationships. Through understanding your own emotions and those of others, you can learn to self-regulate and interact more effectively. EQ assists in communication and conflict resolution, which makes it essential for effective leadership.
EQ is at the heart of building relationships and is a critical human-centred skill. In a work environment, for example, applying EQ can assist in resolving conflict and mediating by listening to all parties’ perspectives and finding a middle ground.
3. Adaptibility
Adaptability involves responding to change and adjusting accordingly. In today’s dynamic workplaces, staying relevant and competitive is crucial. Through continuous learning and flexibility, we can become more adaptable and resilient. By adopting a growth mindset, we can also start to see “failure” as an opportunity to grow.
In the workplace, adaptability involves embracing challenges and setbacks as learning opportunities through seeking feedback and taking steps to improve. We can stay relevant by experimenting with new approaches to solving problems (innovation) and coming up with innovative solutions (creativity).
4. Effective communication
Communication skills are an integral human skill, which we can hone through cultivating EQ, but also by improving our listening skills. Clear communication is an essential part of collaboration, which is another key employability skill to include on a CV.
By listening to others and being more in tune with ourselves, we can respond to situations and feedback more constructively. Through effective communication, we can also limit unnecessary conflict and promote harmonious relationships, which is essential for collaboration in the workplace.
How to highlight employability skills on your CV
To enhance your professional development, it’s not only critical to acquire employability skills but also to be able to showcase these on your CV. Since durable skills are less tangible than hard skills, it is sometimes challenging to demonstrate them to others.
There are many ways to approach building a CV, but according to Indeed’s video, “The BEST Ways to Showcase Skills On Your Resume”, one way is to list transferable skills at the start of your CV. By doing so, you immediately highlight these skills, which you’ll list in addition to other technical abilities.
After that, it’s essential to contextualise your employability skills by linking them to examples. You can do this using the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. To show how this might look on your CV, here are some examples:
- Critical thinking and problem-solving (creativity and innovation): “To help boost the sales of a new product, I conducted market research and created a marketing campaign that helped increase sales by 20%.”
- Emotional Intelligence (and leadership): “In a conflict situation, I mediated between two colleagues who were arguing about the direction of a project, and helped to find a middle ground and continue with the project.”
- Adaptability: “To address an increase in online customer queries, I developed a chatbot with the technical team that directed consumers to the information they were looking for, which reduced the number of tickets by 50%.”
- Effective communication (and collaboration): “In a conversation with a client where there was a language barrier, I was able to listen effectively and communicate the terms of the project effectively, which helped the project move forward.”
In other words, by discussing your experiences in your current or a previous role and sharing insights into your personality and work ethic, you can effectively highlight your competence in these areas.
It’s also important to note that to create an effective CV, you need to respond directly to the job role you’re applying for. By tailoring your CV to the required skills, you can ensure you stand out as a qualified candidate.
Final thoughts: building transferable strengths
Essential durable skills to include on a CV are:
- Critical thinking and problem-solving (which relates to creativity and innovation)
- Emotional intelligence (which links to leadership)
- Adaptibility
- Effective communication (which links to collaboration)
As we’ve established in this article, building transferable strengths in a complex world is critical, but how can we go about learning them? By adopting a lifelong learning approach and seeking opportunities to grow, you can start to hone them in everyday life, as part of your professional development journey.
For example, every daily interaction in the workplace presents an opportunity to improve your soft skills. Ideas include contributing to a new project, which allows you to apply your critical thinking and problem-solving skills (through creativity and innovation). Developing empathy and listening more effectively when engaging with team members can also help build emotional intelligence and communication ability (which is vital for leadership and collaboration). By even just trying to improve these competencies, you’re already taking steps to become more adaptable, too.
If you’d like to formalise your learning, register for SACAP Global’s online micro-credentials or short courses and enhance your communication, leadership, or personal/professional development.
- Developing Holistic Intelligence: EQ & Beyond
- Effective Interpersonal Communication
- Interpersonal Communication: Relationships & Conflict Management
- How to Have Critical Conversations
- Intro to Management & Leadership
- Business Management: Global Trends & Organisational Functions
- Developing a Growth Mindset
