10 Soft Skills most in demand by companies by 2023

Although some always remain static, the Soft Skills most in demand by companies vary every year. Therefore, from Classgap for Enterprise, we have prepared the top 10 of the Soft Skills that, right now, seem to be the most popular in 2023.

But, before we get to the list, it is important to define what a Soft Skill is in order to understand which ones are gaining importance.

What are Soft Skills?

A Soft Skill refers to a person’s ability to perform in any situation.

They are related to a person’s mentality and behavior, and determine how he or she relates to others. As they are related to social skills, some people have them more naturally developed, while others need to make an effort to develop them.

Although companies are interested in certain Soft Skills that do not vary, there are some that gain or lose importance over the years. Therefore, we leave you with the soft skills that will be the most demanded by companies by 2023.

10 Soft Skills most in demand for 2023

1. Leadership

The importance of Soft Skills varies according to the job position: the higher up the chain of command, the more important. This is why leadership continues to be one of the most in-demand Soft Skills, especially in managerial and executive positions, or any position that requires decision-making.

Effective leadership is the key to the success of any company. Not only is it necessary to coordinate strategies, but a good leader is also responsible for uniting the team under a common goal.

2. Public speaking

The ability to communicate is increasingly important: knowing how to speak and convince people is a Soft Skill that is applied in many areas, from writing to negotiation. Therefore, the importance of this soft skill is not limited to managers, but to any profile that has contact with company stakeholders.

On the other hand, in our public speaking courses for companies, you will also how to use body language to communicate effectively. This not only involves making a convincing speech, but also controlling your nerves to be more convincing.

3. Teamwork

The fact that a company has a large team does not necessarily mean that it is well coordinated. Not everyone knows how to work in a team properly: many people do their work individually, without coordinating with the rest of the team.

This is why teamwork has always been one of the most demanded Soft Skills by companies in almost any job position. A person who does not know how to coordinate with his group can be counterproductive and generate more problems than solutions.

4. Stress management

This Soft Skill is especially relevant for jobs where you work against the clock or make important decisions, although poor stress management skills are detrimental to any job.

In jobs where decisions are made, poor stress management can lead to making the wrong decisions at the most critical moments. But, above all, the mental health of a person who is easily stressed will worsen in a tense position. This is why managing stress and cognitive overload is a must-have soft skill in most jobs.

5. Emotional Intelligence

If you don’t know what it is, in this article we talk about emotional intelligence at work. EI is closely related to teamwork, since it refers to the ability to communicate correctly with people, taking into account how they feel and what they want.

In this sense, developing emotional intelligence is essential for managers: being in charge of dealing with the company’s internal problems, they must understand others and know how to manage situations so that people reach an agreement. Despite this, EI is important for anyone, both inside and outside the workplace.

6. Assertiveness

On the other hand, assertiveness is a Soft Skill that goes hand in hand with public speaking, although they are applied differently. Assertiveness does not take into account the ability to expose to an audience, but is limited to being able to clearly express what we think and know how to convince people.

That is why training in public speaking and assertiveness is the ideal option for those who are dedicated to present their projects to third parties, as they will be able to present calmly and develop a clear and convincing speech.

7. Ability to adapt

This is one of the Soft Skills that has gained importance in recent years. The world is changing at an accelerated pace, and knowing how to adapt to these changes quickly is key in many jobs.

This ability to adapt implies a series of skills in itself, but the one that stands out the most is having passion for what you do. In order to adapt to changes quickly, it is necessary to be interested in improving, and this cannot be achieved by a person who works in something he or she does not like.

8. Professional ethics

With the growing importance of CSR, professional ethics are in the spotlight. Nowadays, an unethical action by an employee can seriously damage a company’s reputation.

Despite this, there is no specific training for professional ethics, just as there is for the other Soft Skills. Being ethical is, after all, a matter of common sense, of not doing things that benefit the company at the expense of harming third parties. If you consider that you are unethical and want to improve, your best option is to ask for a second opinion before acting and learn from the feedback.

9. Computer science

Many people consider computer science as a Hard Skill, a skill in which one can be trained, evaluated and demonstrate competence. But the truth is that when we talk about computer science, we are not talking about knowing programming or web design. We are talking about knowing how to work with a computer, search for information, carry out tasks efficiently (with keyboard shortcuts, multiple windows…), even typing.

Of course, it is possible to be trained in computer science, but most knowledge will come from practice. There is no better way to learn how to operate a computer efficiently than by operating a computer. Moreover, this Soft Skill is also one of the most popular in recent years, but it is also one that, increasingly, many people already master naturally when they reach working age.

10. Decision-Making

Although it seems that this Soft Skill is only necessary for manager profiles, the truth is that it applies to the vast majority of jobs. This does not mean that it is a requirement to access an employee position, but it is undoubtedly a skill that makes the job much easier.

When we talk about decision-making, we are referring to the ability to decide the best move among several options with the information we have available at the time. And this, in turn, means knowing how to analyze and interpret data. In the same way, it is also closely linked to stress management, since tense situations are those that require more accuracy when deciding.