Soft skills are more valuable than you might think.

A viral TikTok came across my X feed this week of a skit called “The Personality Hire.” The video shows a bubbly woman in her office, chatting and laughing with her co-workers who were stressed about an approaching deadline. The thought of asking their CEO, Greg, for a deadline extension was seemingly impossible, as he was way too “scary” to the stressed coworkers. That was until the ‘personality hire’ says, “well, I can call Greg!” as if he wasn’t “terrifying,” as described by her peers.

When the ‘personality hire’ starts the phone call with their Greg, she immediately says “Greggie! How are you! How are the kids?” Being the friendly talkative person that she is, it’s obvious she already has an established relationship with their CEO, making it more of a conversation rather than a scary one-on-one. That simple connection, as realistic as it may or may not be, is an immediate benefit to her and her coworkers, who need the extension. As she continues this phone call, she gets lost in genuine curiosity about the upcoming school play Annie that Greg’s daughter will be in, until she remembers that she needs to ask for an extension. 

https://twitter.com/solomonmissouri/status/1725172519802376559?s=20

There’s an obvious possibility for Greg to decline, but it’s worth a try, and the ‘personality hire’ takes on this mission with a “why not” attitude, constructed by her genuine “friendship” with her peers and superior. Greg agrees to the extension, and the team thanks her for her braveness, though to her it was just a conversation.

It was very obvious to see her interpersonal skills shine through and they were extremely beneficial to her team in time of need, which reflects the benefit of having soft skills.

Many times hard skills are emphasized more in conversations and resumes. Those skills such as software or webpage proficiency are often seen as less valuable than a soft skill such as communication or time-management because it can be seen as “expected.” If they were expected, then everyone would have the skills — but they don’t. 

It’s hard enough to show personality through a resume because anything other than the standard black Times New Roman font with a plain white background is seen as unprofessional; Which fundamentally supports hard skills, that are easily presented in a “professional” resume. Yet when those with soft skills are in the office, they’re valuable and where people come to to feel comfortable and safe around? That trust and comfortability is the way that teams and work settings can thrive because of that friendly personality in the office.

Hard skills are just as valuable as soft skills. Despite the condescending terminology of “soft skills,” suggesting they’re easy to acquire. Not to say that the terms need to be renamed, but it’s important to recognize that hard skills are skills that can be taught and acquired, whereas soft skills are more often than not, natural. 

So if you’re seen as the “personality hire” (as offensive as that sounds), your presence is appreciated in the office and probably keeps that entire office floor afloat.