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PhD Transferable Skills

Translating your skills and experiences.

Transferable skills are skills you acquire or learn in one setting that can be applied or translated to new and different settings, environments, and activities. Doctoral students often fall into the trap of seeing their skills as applicable in only one setting, thus do not recognize that they are qualified for a wide variety of career paths. Don’t let this happen to you! In the table below you will find a list of skills most sought after by employers. In the final column of the table are examples of activities that demonstrate these essential skills. For several of the skills you can also take online assessments to identify which areas you still need to develop.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS: Adaptability , Analytic skills , Balance & resilience , Communication skills ( oral and written ), Conflict resolution/negotiation , Cultural/Intercultural , Discipline-specific skills , Ethics & Integrity , Follow-through/Ability to get things done , Fundraising , Independent (self-starter), Intelligence , Inter-/Multi- disciplinary , Interpersonal skills , Leadership (program) , Leadership (personnel/management) , Networking & collaboration , Organization , Outreach , Project management , Research , Self-direction/Entrepreneurial skills , Supervision , Technical skills (information technology), Work ethic

Essential Skills and Competencies for Graduate Students 1 :

1 Contents of table are adapted from Blickley, et al. (2012). “Graduate Student’s Guide to Necessary Skills for Nonacademic Conservation Careers.” Conservation Biology, 27:1. 2 Winterton, Delamare - Le Deist, and Stringfellow (2006). “Typology of knowledge, skills and competences: clarification of the concept and prototype.”

Additional resources on transferable skills:

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• Graduate Student Skills (UIUC) [PDF]

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10 PhD Transferable Skills You Can Use in Most Jobs

“No one wants to hire PhDs because they are overqualified and too independent!”

This is one thing PhDs are tired of hearing. How can your PhD be a liability to your career? Rather, recruiters prefer PhD candidates over others not just for their qualification but for their PhD transferable skills.

Table of Contents

What are PhD Transferable Skills?

PhD Transferable skills are exactly what the name suggests! These are skills other than technical skills that you develop in your academic program. Furthermore, these skills are so versatile that they can be used everywhere, irrespective of the designation or field. Transferable skills are desirable because if you already have them, your employer will not have to train you on them. Consequently, you can make positive contributions in any career with these skills.

Which are the PhD Transferable Skills that You Must Develop?

Considering that a doctorate degree is the highest degree in most fields, the skills that are required to excel in the same are impeccable. Undoubtedly, researchers pursuing their Ph.Ds. or postdocs develop technical skills related to their research. However, what they also need to develop is a host of research transferable skills they can use as they progress in their careers.

Which are 10 PhD Transferable Skills You Can Use in Most Jobs?

With the surge of jobs for PhD in STEM, recruiters struggle to fill those positions with talented candidates. They are always in need of trained professionals who know how to create information from scratch, and not just recreate it in a tinkering manner.

While your work experience and education during PhD is an asset, you’d be surprised to find out that employers in most sectors pay close attention to your skill set. According to a recently published survey report by LinkedIn, 57% of respondents identified soft transferable skills as more important than hard skills (technical knowledge).

Here, we list 10 significant PhD transferable skills students can use in most jobs.

1. Project Management

The most apparent thought that comes to anyone’s mind while thinking about PhD is “project management” skills. A successful research experience goes hand-in-hand with a well-planned project. As simple as it may sound, the management skills of a PhD graduate are not confined to his/her project. It starts right from ideation of the research project to final submission, which results in an ultimate success of the project. Different stages of a PhD’s journey demands customized planning and organizing to ensure that deadlines are met and projects are completed efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, a PhD makes sure that all plans are duly incorporated. Employers seek candidates with PhD transferable skills as they want someone who can not only see a task through, but can visualize what needs to happen on a project from start to finish.

2. Accelerated Learning

As a doctor of philosophy, the ability to ascertain knowledge runs thick in the veins of a PhD researcher. An inquisitive mind and quick comprehension of technical things is interlinked to your accelerated learning ability. Moreover, being a PhD, you attend conferences and read papers to stay on top of the latest trends in your field. Consequently, PhD transferable skills ensure employers of your ability to understand technical procedures, protocols, and methodologies.

3. Time Management

Time waits for none! The key to a tension-free and smooth workflow is effective time management . While planning is important, defining your deadlines, setting realistic and achievable goals, and adhering to them takes you a long way! At a job, every moment spent on an unfocused or frivolous task, is a waste of money. Contradictorily, time management may not be viewed similarly in academia. However, as a PhD your motive has been to complete your program in time. This acts as a serious motivation to develop excellent time management skills.

4. Attention to Detail

One of the essential core skills of a PhD is paying attention to the details. To the best of your experience as a researcher, you are aware that mistakes can be missed in the bat of an eye. Therefore, it is a known fact that PhDs are one of the finest people to make sure that each project runs through a fine-tooth comb. As a result, employers can count on you for detail-oriented assignments that require critical assessment and corrections.

5. Ability to Collaborate

As stated earlier, PhDs are not new to working in groups to achieve common goals. Your significant contribution in research groups, as a researcher and author during your PhD program demonstrates your ability to collaborate . Employers seek candidates who are team players making positive contributions to the success of a group.

6. Writing Proficiency

Given the nature of modern technology, writing may not be a primary task of most job profiles. However, it sure is an essential element for academic and allied knowledge dissemination careers. In due course of pursuing a PhD, you come across countless reading material from authors all around the world. This subsequently stocks up your bank of vocabulary and enhances your writing skills for an unambiguous conveyance of messages and information.

7. Leadership Skills

Leadership skills aren’t only your ability to supervise and manage a team, but to take the lead on a project and get a team to follow through and achieve goals. As a PhD you’re the “lead” for your project. While it doesn’t necessarily involve leading other people, it still means being responsible for major decisions to accomplish targets. Additionally, it is common for PhD students to work in research groups and collaborate on shared projects. Nonetheless, they also demonstrate leadership while organizing conferences and seminars for their department or university. PhDs are also seen showing leadership skills while advising students and mentoring peers.

8. Critical Thinking and Analysis

As a PhD, it’s a given that you are able to analyze data and provide logical reasoning to it. Throughout your program, you collect data, analyze it, and draw conclusions. The ability of a PhD to critically examine everything and deliver logical reasoning behind it is not new to anyone. A PhD is well versed with 360-degree logical thinking without being biased. Employers seek these research transferable skill of a PhD to consider alternative solutions to a problem and suggest next steps for efficient functioning.

9. Communication Skills

This is the master of PhD transferable skills. Even if you decide to step into a career that is a 180-degree sweep from your PhD, you’d still need to communicate! Your ability to communicate efficiently is developed right from preparing for your PhD interview, presenting papers and posters at academic conferences, defending your thesis, etc. As verbal communication affects your ability to work with your peers, it is one of the most sought after research transferable skills by employers.

10. Adaptability

A PhD isn’t only about specialization. Rather, it’s about the ability to specialize. During your PhD you learn to tackle a new topic, solve it, and move on to the next problem. Almost all careers require employees to focus on specific topics and projects in detail to achieve a specific goal. Your ability of in-depth specialization in academic research project demonstrates adaptability and flexibility —quite literally!

So the next time you are asked, “What skills do you bring to this position?”, you certainly know how to answer that! Brush up your PhD transferable skills to help you make the right career switch. Remember that your PhD isn’t a liability after all. In fact, it’s an asset! Let us know how you acquired these valuable skills that are highly sought after by employers today.

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More and more people are applying to do a PhD. What many don’t know is it takes serious skills to do one – and, more importantly, complete it.

We analysed the selection criteria for PhD candidates on a platform that advertises PhD programs. Our analysis of thousands of these ads revealed exactly what types of skills different countries and disciplines require.

Why do a PhD in the first place?

People pursue a PhD for many reasons. They might want to stand out from the crowd in the job market, learn how to do research, gain a deeper expertise in an area of interest, or pursue an academic career.

Sadly, too many PhD students never finish. The PhD turns out to be too hard, not well supported, mentally taxing, financially draining, etc. Dropping the PhD often means significant financial loss for institutions and individuals, not to mention the psychological costs of other consequences such as low self-esteem, anxiety and loneliness .

Read more: 1 in 5 PhD students could drop out. Here are some tips for how to keep going

Our society and economy can only benefit from a better-educated workforce, so it is in the national interest to manage PhD intakes and be clear about expectations. The expansion of doctoral education led to a more competitive selection process, but the criteria are opaque.

To clarify PhD expectations, we turned to a European research job platform supported by EURAXESS (a pan-European initiative by the European Commission) where PhD programs are advertised as jobs. Required skills are listed in the selection criteria. We analysed 13,562 PhD ads for the types of skills different countries and disciplines require.

We made three specific findings.

1. Top 3 skills needed for a PhD

It turns out that it takes many so-called transferable skills to do a PhD. These are skills that can be translated and applied to any professional context. The top three required skills are:

communication – academic writing, presentation skills, speaking to policy and non-expert audiences

research – disciplinary expertise, data analysis, project management

interpersonal – leadership, networking, teamwork, conflict resolution.

Trending skill categories are digital (information processing and visualisation) and cognitive (abstract, critical and creative thinking and problem-solving).

Previous research shows transferable skills are requested for post-PhD careers, including both academic and non-academic jobs. Our research shows such skills are already required to do a PhD. Those keen to do a PhD are well advised to provide strong evidence of such skills when applying.

2. Skill demands vary by country and discipline

Skill demands significantly differ by country and discipline. For example, 62% of medical science ads mention interpersonal skills. This is twice as often as in biological science ads. Digital and cognitive skills score much higher in the Netherlands than in other countries.

Our research article reports on 2016-2019 data and the top five represented countries (Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and the UK) and the top five represented disciplines (biological sciences, physics, chemistry, engineering and medical sciences). However, you can use this tool for granular detail on 52 countries – including non-European countries like Australia, New Zealand, the US, etc. – and 37 disciplines included in the data sample. For continuously updated data, please visit https://www.resgap.com/ .

3. PhD expectations are rising

We see a rise in PhD expectations over time (2016-2019) as more skills are listed year on year. The publish or perish culture prevails and rising demands on academics have led to calls for more engaged research, collaborations with industry, and research commercialisation .

PhD students get accustomed early to competitiveness and high expectations.

Read more: Is it a good time to be getting a PhD? We asked those who've done it

Research-based learning needs to start early

These insights have implications for pre-PhD education and pathways. Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees can further promote PhD readiness by embedding authentic hands-on research with academic or corporate partners, either as part of the curriculum or as extracurricular activities.

Many postgraduate degrees offer authentic research project work opportunities but are shorter. Those entering the PhD without a postgraduate degree miss out on developing essential research skills.

Authentic research experiences need to happen early on in higher education. Organisations like the Council on Undergraduate Research ( CUR ), the Australasian Council for Undergraduate Research ( ACUR ) and the British Conference of Undergraduate Research ( BCUR ) are designed to support institutions and individuals to do this effectively. They showcase great models of undergraduate research.

To get a good idea of what undergraduate research looks like, start with this comprehensive paper and catch up on undergraduate research news from Australasia .

We know research-based learning develops employability skills such as critical thinking, resilience and independence.

Embed career development in PhD programs

Doctoral training needs to take note, too, if it is to further build on the skill set that PhD applicants bring with them.

The good news is doctoral education has transformed in recent decades. It’s catching up to the call for better-skilled graduates for a range of careers. The training focus has shifted towards generating practice-based and problem-solving knowledge, and engaged research with other sectors.

Read more: It's time to reduce the number of PhD students, or rethink how doctoral programs work

Some institutions now offer skill and career training. Generally, though, this sort of training is left to the graduates themselves. Many current PhD candidates will attest that the highly regulated and tight PhD schedule leaves little room for voluntary activities to make them more employable.

Most PhD candidates also know more than half of them will not score a long-term academic job. Institutions would serve them better by formally embedding tailored career development opportunities in PhD programs that prepare for academic and non-academic jobs .

It’s not only PhD graduates’ professional and personal well-being that will benefit but also the national economy.

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The 7 Essential Transferable Skills All PhDs Have

During your PhD, you’re not just learning about your research topic. You’re also learning core skills that apply to jobs both in and out of academia. Most institutions don’t teach you to articulate these transferable skills in a way that aligns with how they’re described in the business world. Knowing your skills increases your value as a candidate.

Written Communication

It takes practice to become a good writer. Fortunately, as PhD student you have years of practice writing papers, conference abstracts, journal manuscripts, and of course your dissertation. The feedback you receive from your supervisor and peer reviewers will help improve your communication skills.

Research skills are valuable even in many fields outside of academia. As a trained researcher, you are able to determine the best approach to a question, find relevant data, design a way to analyze it, understand a large amount of data, and then synthesize your findings. You even know how to use research to persuade others and defend your conclusions.

Public Speaking                   

Strong oral communications skills are always valued, and PhD students get more public speaking opportunities than most. Through conference talks, poster presentations, and teaching, you will learn to feel comfortable in front of a larger audience, engage them, and present complex ideas in a straightforward way. Winning a teaching award or being recognized as the best speaker at a conference is a concrete way to prove your public speaking skills.

Project Management

Even if you’re not working as a project manager, every job requires some degree of project management. Fortunately, a PhD is an exercise in project management. Finishing your dissertation requires you to design a project, make a realistic timeline, overcome setbacks, and manage stakeholders. During this time, you will also have to manage long-term projects at the same time as short-term goals which requires strong organizational skills.

Mentoring and teaching are the two main way PhD student can learn leadership and management skills. As a teacher or mentor, you have to figure out how to motivate someone and help them accomplish a goal. You also get experience evaluating someone’s performance (grading) and giving constructive feedback.

Critical Thinking

Every PhD student learns critical thinking skills whether they realize it or not. You are trained to approach problems systematically, see the links between ideas, evaluate arguments, and analyze information to come up with your own conclusions. Any industry can benefit from someone who knows “how to think”.

Collaboration

Very few jobs require you to work completely independently, and academia isn’t one of them. Your dissertation is a solo project, but on a day to day basis you work with other people on your experiments or preparing a journal manuscript. Doing these tasks successfully requires knowing how to divide up a task, get along with others, communicate effectively, and resolve conflict.

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• Transferable PhD Skills You Can Use in Any Career
• After a PhD
• Having a PhD demonstrates that you have a host of skills desirable for employers, allowing you to pursue a non academic career path.
• Transferable skills from a PhD include interpersonal skills, work ethic, problem-solving, time management, independence & responsibility, adaptability and report writing.
• It is important to sell yourself to potential employers by identifying and relating these transferable skills to the job you are applying for.

This page will explain how your PhD has prepared you for a career outside of academia, and how to make the most of your transferable skills when looking for a job.

Can PhD Doctorates Work in Any Role?

A common misconception we hear is that individuals with PhDs must pursue a career in academia. This is usually due to a lack of industrial work experience PhD students have upon obtaining their doctorate. However, this is not the case as one of the key benefits of a PhD is the transferable skills it brings.

Transferable Skills from A PhD

By completing a PhD you will have demonstrated several skills which make you desirable for employers. It is essential that you recognise these skills and can use them to sell yourself in your CV .

Transferable skills from a PhD include:

Communication

Throughout your PhD, you will have been required to work with others, be it supervisors or examiners. You will also have been required to communicate your ideas (often complex and detailed theories) succinctly and to those with less background knowledge than you. Communication skills are essential in the workplace, regardless of the job, as it shows the ability to work in a team effectively .

Completing a PhD is no easy task. In doing so, you have shown a drive to ‘ get the job done ’.

Problem Solving

Throughout your PhD, you will have encountered several problems you overcame. Use these as examples to show your ability to use creative thinking  to devise  solutions  to these problems.

Data Analysation

Most PhD research projects will involve some degree of data analysation. The ability to interpret complex information and identify relevant data is a valuable skill in numerical fields such as science and engineering. You are also likely to have developed your research skills which shows you can identify types of bias, anomalies and trends which is useful in statistical roles such as accounting.

Time Management

An important skill in the workplace is the ability to  prioritise and organise   tasks . With your PhD degree, you should be able to convince potential employers that you can establish realistic timelines and remain to deadlines. You are also able to engage in both short and long term planning . Time management skills are particularly useful for those pursuing project management or leadership roles.

Independence & Responsibility

Perhaps one of the most important things you have shown throughout your research project is your ability to take responsibility  for your  development . A potential employer should see you as someone who does not need constant instructions, but someone who can take ownership of problems and resolve them using their own  independent judgement .

Adaptability

It is unlikely that you will have stuck to your original plan. Things happen and you will have been required to adapt on the fly during your PhD. This is common transferable skill employers are looking for if they operate in volatile markets.

Report Writing

You have been able to summarise approximately three years or more worth of work in a single thesis. This shows your ability to filter through massive amounts of information, identify the key points , and get these points across to the reader. The ability to ‘cut out the waffle’ or ‘get to the point’ is a huge asset in the professional industry.

Useful Phrases To Demonstrate Your Skills

From the above list, it’s clear that a PhD provides you with a host of transferable skills employers look for in candidates. The key is to relate these skills to the job you are applying for.

To help you with this, we’ve put together a few common examples of phrases we hear from doctorates that can be refined for job-seeking purposes. It’s imperative not to stretch the truth or to mislead them but focus on convincing your potential employers how your PhD has prepared you for the role you are applying for.

Other Specialist Skills

Aside from these PhD transferable skills, you may have also developed expertise in more specialised areas of knowledge . For example, as part of your PhD were you required to use Computer Programming? Were you required to use Medical Equipment? Did you organise events? Not only are these skills in themselves, but they have inherent  soft skills  too.

Make sure you get these skills across to your potential employer as they will help demonstrate how valuable you are.

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Soft skills for PhDs - part 1

In the fast paced academic world of today, soft skills can either make or break the future of a PhD candidate. Contrary to popular belief, academics and PhD students require soft skills and management techniques along with their usual rigorous technical and scientific expertise in their jobs.

Unlike some of your hard skills, these soft skills will also be transferable to other jobs in other domains. Therefore, I believe it is definitely worthwhile to actively develop and be aware of your soft skills.

In this blog series, I will outline some of the soft skills that I think are worthwhile for you as a PhD student to develop. Let’s start with the first five:

1. Critical thinking

Critical thinking is an obvious place to start since a PhD thesis heavily features an exercise in developing critical thinking in a specific domain of expertise. However, a critical thinking ability in general is also something that a PhD student needs to develop.

For example, I quickly realized that I needed to think critically and carefully when deciding which question to ask in an open seminar or in open talks at my department even though it had nothing to do with my everyday work.

2. Time management

This is another one of the obvious ones. If you are to plan, execute and successfully complete any project within the stipulated time, an acute sense of time management is very important. For a PhD student, even simple tasks such as replying to emails, updating meeting minutes, writing subsequent drafts and manuscripts, etc. can demand appropriate time management.

In my opinion, my Dutch colleagues and supervisors take this ability more seriously than any other soft skill. Therefore, I think this skill should be a part of your arsenal.

3. Brainstorming

Some might also call this ‘problem solving’. I think that as a PhD student, you need to be able to think analytically and rationally to generate solutions. This ‘brainstorming’ ability can facilitate not just your work, but also supports your partnerships and collaborations which is common in large projects with multiple doctoral candidates. On the flipside of solving problems, brainstorming is also relevant to generating interesting questions which can then be solved.

I think the most venerated and brilliant professors or researchers in my department all share a common trait which is excellent brainstorming ability.

4. Ethical decision making

As a research student, your work is very personal. Therefore, it is important that you develop a sense of scientific ethics during the course of your study. Being an ethical decision maker implies that you take the responsibility of furthering the knowledge in your domain seriously. Every important work decision should be judged ethically by you. It can seem easy to be reckless or dismissive about ethics in your decisions since you have great power to shape the narrative. But ultimately, a good ethical decision bolsters the quality of your research and fosters trust among fellow academics.

For example, while presenting my first paper that involved a lot of trial and error, I had to make decisions such as “should I mention all the methodologies that I tried that failed to work or just mention the ones that worked in the end and discuss them?”.

5. Negotiation and teamwork

I think this is also one of the obvious soft skills that you need as a PhD student. If you have ever worked with anyone on a team or had a supervisor/ boss, you know that negotiation skills are very important. However, as a PhD student, I think negotiation should also be appended by good team working ability. This is a bit different than the negotiation skills required by businessmen or diplomats. Unlike those professions, research work is not a zero sum game. Negotiation tactics should be developed such that it helps you as well as your team of colleagues and supervisors reach the best possible outcomes.

There are many more soft skills relevant to the trajectory of a PhD student that are also transferable to future jobs in any domain. Want to know which ones? Next week I will share five more !

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• CAREER COLUMN
• 15 December 2021

‘Hard’ skills from our PhDs remain relevant beyond academia

• Jonathan McGuire 0 &
• Samantha Baggott 1

Jonathan McGuire is director of data and analytics at the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commission in Sydney, Australia.

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Samantha Baggott is assistant director of data and analytics at the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commission in Sydney, Australia.

When we first started looking at non-academic career options after our PhDs in cognitive science, it seemed that it was our ‘soft’ skills that would transfer beyond academia to the ‘real world’ — things such as resilience, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. These do transfer, of course, but after being on the other side of the recruitment process in management roles at a government agency, we now think this undersells the more academic skills developed during a PhD.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03756-0

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged .

Competing Interests

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4 things you need to know about soft skills

Meredith Somers

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Lessons once relegated to aptitude tests and playgrounds are finding new homes in cubicles and C-suites. Here are some important things to remember about the implementation of — and incentives for — soft skills, from MIT Sloan faculty and researchers.

Defining a problem is the most underrated skill in management.

Critical thinking, problem solving, and working well with others are necessary for employees at any level, but MIT Sloan professors Nelson Repenning and Don Kieffer, along with alumnus Todd Astor, found that leaders who can directly answer the question of “what problem are you trying to solve” will be a step ahead in the game.

According to Repenning and Kieffer, a good problem statement has five components that include: 

• a reference to something the organization cares about, and connects that to a clear and specific goal.
• clear articulation of the gap between the current state and specific goal.
• measurable targets.
• neutrality toward causes and solutions.
• an achievable and appropriate scope.

“In our experience, leaders who can formulate clear problem statements get more done with less effort and move more rapidly than their less-focused counterparts,” the experts wrote in MIT Sloan Management Review. “Clear problem statements can unlock the energy and innovation that lies within those who do the core work of your organization.”

Read “ The most underrated skill in management ” in MIT Sloan Management Review.

Understanding the value of soft skills takes time.

Millennials soon will be the leaders in the business world, and those same future leaders also come with a set of challenges. Among them: soft skills.

While millennials’ technical skills are far ahead of other generations, professor John Van Maanen said at last year’s MIT Sloan CFO Summit, they “are often lacking in soft skills, like communication and problem solving.”

A lack of soft skills, however, does not spell immediate doom for an organization’s success. While demand for some soft skills “is occasionally predictive of hiring problems,” according to MIT Technology Review, most of those skills — like cooperation and teamwork — don’t necessarily point to hiring difficulties.

That isn’t to say soft skills aren’t helpful, but they need to be connected to a particular job requirement and employer needs, writes Andrew Weaver, assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Read “ Coaching millennials has its hurdles — and it’s time to get over them ” at MIT Sloan Executive Education and “ The myth of the skills gap ” at MIT Technology Review.

Soft skills could help bridge the economic divide.

MIT Sloan professor of information technology Erik Brynjolfsson said soft skills can help bridge the gap between poverty and wealth in the United States.

Brynjolfosson proposed during an Inclusive Innovation Challenge panel that the problem is not a lack of work, but “finding the right people for the right jobs.”

A solution to that problem is teaching critical thinking over something like memorization. This in turn helps address the need for soft skills.

Read “ Soft skills, partnerships needed to bridge economic divide .”

Soft skills training brings substantial returns on investment.

A study by Namrata Kala, an assistant professor of economics at MIT Sloan, along with colleagues from the University of Michigan and Boston College, found that in-factory soft skills training returned roughly 250 percent return on investment less than a year after the training’s end.

The study also found that employees who did not participate in the training but worked alongside employees who did showed some improvements in workplace productivity.

“Our interpretation of the results is that skills like time and stress management, communication, problem solving and decision-making, and effective teamwork are ‘soft’ inputs into production,” the study said. “Reinforcing these skills thus directly affects productivity."

Read “ Soft skills training brings substantial returns on investment .”

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Development of Soft Skills by Doctoral Students

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This paper has been prepared as a part of the capacity building project “Modernization of Doctoral Education in Science and Improvement of Teaching Methodologies” made possible by the programs of Erasmus+. The main aim of this project is to improve the quality of doctoral education by implementing new teaching methodologies based on interdisciplinary approaches and international cooperation. The author presents Russian system of Doctoral education, its structure, content and main competences required for training highly qualified researchers. The paper focuses on developing communicative skills by PhD students in the framework of Foreign Language Course which is included Doctoral degree programs.

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The research was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the grant “Modernization of Doctoral Education in Science and Improvement of Teaching Methodologies” (MODEST) No. 598549-EPP-1-2018-1-LV-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP (2018 – 2939/001 – 001).

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Valeeva, E., Ziyatdinova, J., Galeeva, F. (2020). Development of Soft Skills by Doctoral Students. In: Auer, M., Hortsch, H., Sethakul, P. (eds) The Impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on Engineering Education. ICL 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1135. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40271-6_17

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What Are Soft Skills?

Whereas hard skills describe what you do, soft skills describe how you do it.

Soft skills are the attributes and behaviours describing how a person approaches tasks. You likely use soft skills across all areas of your life—communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and other interpersonal skills are some examples of soft skills—but they’re particularly valued in the workplace.

Soft skills are commonly referred to as workplace or transferable skills. These alternative names can be more descriptive when thinking about and discussing your skill set.

In this article, we’ll go into more detail about the high-value soft skills employers look for and offer tips for improving yours.

Hard skills vs. soft skills

Hard skills describe what you do, while soft skills describe how you do it.

Your hard skills are your technical skills relating to the tasks you know how to do. Some examples of technical skills are data analysis, computer programming, writing, and UX design. When you complete a task, you often use hard and soft skills—technical skills to guide your process and workplace skills to encourage effective outcomes.

What workplace skills are employers looking for?

Workplace skills can offer insight into a person’s approach to work beyond their role's technical or context-specific aspects. For many employers, how you do something is as important as what you do—especially regarding long-term learning, growth, and success.

A Yale University study found that managers with soft skills relating to their emotional intelligence had happier, more creative staff than those without those soft skills [ 1 ]. According to a Skill Survey, 77 percent of employers said soft skills were just as important in choosing a candidate as hard skills [ 2 ]. 

In particular, employers are broadly looking for:

Effective communication

Teamwork and collaboration

Critical thinking and problem-solving

Employers may consider workplace skills to forecast a person’s future potential. This character analysis may come into play when choosing the leads for a new project or deciding whether an employee is ready for a promotion. Hiring managers also assess workplace skills to determine whether a job candidate will be a good fit for a specific team.

Soft skills examples

Different employers will value workplace skills differently. Here are some examples of desirable workplace skills:

Active listening

Adaptability

Communication

Critical thinking

Organisation

Problem-solving

Resourcefulness

Strategic thinking

Time management

Ways to improve your workplace skills

Since workplace skills are primarily tied to behaviour, improving them may involve shifting your regular patterns, approaches, or thought processes. This type of work requires practice and patience, but over time, you’ll likely notice more ease as you tap into your workplace skills.

Although they’ve traditionally been seen as more complex to learn than technical skills, there are several ways to build upon your existing workplace skills. If you have a specific skill in mind that you’d like to improve, think about ways you can implement that skill into your daily life. You can also consult a life coach to help develop a personalised action plan.

Here are some ideas for improving your workplace skills:

1. Practice different communication styles.

People tend to prefer different communication styles, whether that’s delivery methods—such as conversation, email, or text—or the manner of the delivery, like passive, aggressive, or assertive communication. In addition to your communication skills, considering how you might approach communicating in different situations can be an opportunity to practice adaptability, critical thinking, and strategic thinking.

To practice different communication styles, you can express the same idea in various ways by writing it down, describing it aloud, putting it into a presentation, or delivering it to multiple audiences.

2. Join a group project.

Beyond demonstrating your ability to take the initiative, joining a group project can offer opportunities to practice several workplace skills, such as teamwork, time management, and active listening. As a bonus, group projects can enable you to bring your technical skills into a collaborative environment.

To join a group project, you'll be interested in what colleagues are working on and offer your help where it may be beneficial, or look for opportunities within your local community.

3. Learn something new.

Learning something new can expand your typical way of thinking and encourage growth. There are strong links between learning and creativity, so whatever you decide to know, you may stand to gain technical knowledge and enhance your creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

To learn something new, check out the class offerings at your local community centre, college or art centre, or browse popular free courses on Coursera.

4. Socialise with teammates.

You use workplace skills in every interaction you have. Simply getting to know your teammates, if you are part of a team or workmates and colleagues, can be an effective way to practice your communication and active listening skills and create opportunities for future collaboration.

If appropriate, you can approach socialising with your teammates or colleagues with an interest in their lives and a willingness to share about your own.

5. Suggest improvements to processes.

As you build your technical and workplace skills, you may notice some opportunities to improve how things are done. Thinking critically about processes, recognising problems, and finding viable solutions are all valued workplace skills.

To suggest process improvements, you may ask your manager about their preferred method and what type of information they’ll need to assess your suggestions.

6. Ask for feedback.

Many workplace skills have an element of interactivity, and sometimes, an outside perspective can help illuminate things you are doing well and areas you may want to focus on improving. Similarly, offering feedback to others can be an opportunity to practice active listening, leadership, and teamwork.

To ask for feedback, turn to your manager, recent project collaborators, or other colleagues you’ve built relationships with.

How to include workplace skills on a CV

Including your workplace skills on your CV can be less intuitive than including your technical skills, but there are opportunities to do so within your summary or profile or in a special skills section. Also, you'll be able to select action words that align with the skills you want to demonstrate within your work experience section. Then, you can use your cover letter to share further details.

Remember that workplace skills are reflected in how you approach your work, so when you discuss your successes, share what you did, how you did it, and your impact.

Keep learning

Continue working on your workplace skills with Coursera. Browse popular workplace skills courses from top institutions and industry leaders, or check out IBM’s People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialisation . Sign up for a free seven-day, all-access trial and start learning today.

Give your team access to a catalogue of 8,000+ engaging courses and hands-on Guided Projects to help them develop impactful skills. Learn more about Coursera for Business .

Article sources

1. The Journal of Creative Behavior. Supervisor Emotionally Intelligent Behavior and Employee Creativity , https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.436." Accessed April 2, 2024.

2. SkillSurvey. “ The Rise of Soft Skills and Why They Matter Now ,https://www.skillsurvey.com/resource/rise-of-soft-skills-infographic/.” Accessed April 2, 2024.

Keep reading

Coursera staff.

Editorial Team

Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact...

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

More From Forbes

How leaders can increase productivity using ai combined with soft skills.

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As our society undergoes constant transformation, leaders are confronted with the daunting task of enhancing productivity while cultivating a cohesive team dynamic. Along the path of leadership development, the combination of artificial intelligence with soft skills emerges as a powerful tactic to not only boost productivity but also to cultivate stronger bonds within teams. Alvin Toffler, futurist and author of Future Shock, once famously said, “The illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

As leaders, understanding this powerful reframing of 21st-century literacy is more crucial than ever due to the rapidly evolving nature of our world. The pace of change in technology, business, and society requires leaders who can navigate uncertainty, adapt to new challenges, and marry technological innovation with human-centered strategies. By learning to innovatively blend AI capabilities with empathetic leadership traits, leaders pave the way for unparalleled productivity with their teams, departments, and organizations.

“AI-first organizations focus not just on the technologies behind AI but also on the operating models, culture, talent, leadership, and capabilities required to get the most from their AI investments” according to McKinsey & Company in their State of Organizations 2023 report. This emphasizes the significant impact of integrating AI technologies with soft skills on organizational efficiency and employee morale. As leaders navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving business environment, it's essential to acknowledge that the true potential of AI lies not only in its technological capabilities but also in its ability to enhance and empower human capabilities.

In order to curate a workplace culture where AI is combined with soft skills to increase productivity, leaders can implement three strategies with their teams:

Empower AI Ambassadors With Digital Badging And Tech Sessions

Total solar eclipse emoji map meme tells you all you need to know, the walking dead the ones who live season finale review super easy barely an inconvenience, the top 10 richest people in the world april 2024.

Harness the untapped potential within your team by identifying individuals who demonstrate exceptional proficiency in leveraging AI technologies to drive productivity. Once you have identified the key competencies that demonstrate proficiency and communicated those competencies to leaders at every level in the organization, begin to identify AI ambassadors. These individuals will serve as trailblazers, inspiring their peers and spearheading cross-skilling through shadowing and digital coaching within the organization.

Recognize their expertise and contributions by implementing a digital badging system that highlights their achievements and skillsets. Digital badges serve as tangible symbols of recognition, motivating ambassadors to continue their pursuit of excellence while also providing real-time professional development and support to colleagues.

Facilitate Meaningful Human-AI Collaboration with Strategic Questioning

Encouraging collaborative partnerships between humans and AI technologies is key to boosting productivity and fostering innovation. As you navigate this journey, it's important to foster an inclusive work environment where you feel empowered to collaborate effectively with AI tools. Instead of seeing them as replacements, view them as valued partners in achieving your goals.

To make this collaboration successful, strategic questioning plays a critical role. By asking the right questions, you can unlock deeper insights, challenge assumptions, and pave the way for more meaningful collaboration between humans and AI systems.

Here are three key questions you can use to enhance collaboration between AI and humans:

1. What steps can we take to address potential concerns or fears among team members regarding job security and the role of AI in our organization?

2. What does transparency and open communication between our team members and AI systems look like and sound like for this team, and how can we create systems of support for each?

3. How can we leverage AI tools to enhance employee learning and development opportunities, ensuring that our team remains adaptable and equipped with the necessary skills for success?

Integrating these strategic questions into your approach will help you foster a culture of collaboration, trust, and empowerment within your organization, ultimately driving greater success and innovation.

AI-Powered Wellness Coaches

This final strategy marries the power of wellness and AI to develop custom-designed wellness initiatives that authentically elevate self-care, self-regulation, and self-awareness. Choose an AI-powered wellness app that meets the needs and challenges of your team. For teams who want to focus on physical fitness, Nike Run Club is an excellent app for tracking pace, location, distance, elevation, and heart rate. Select a member or members of your team to serve as wellness coaches to support employees' physical and mental well-being while enhancing productivity. Wellness coaches can be individuals who possess deep empathy for others, active listening skills, and general knowledge in areas such as stress management, nutrition, and mental health.

Wellness coaches can utilize algorithms and user data to analyze individual or team health data, including activity levels, sleep patterns, stress levels, and emotional well-being through team meet-ups, team challenges, or offsite team-building activities. The goal is to curate conversations that drive productivity through a holistically healthy workplace culture. AI wellness coaches can facilitate or be responsible for securing a range of support services, including personalized exercise routines, mindfulness exercises, stress management techniques, and sleep optimization strategies that can be shared throughout the organization. Furthermore, wellness coaches can integrate with existing workplace wellness programs and initiatives, providing valuable insights and recommendations to HR professionals and leadership teams.

Embracing this holistic approach isn't just about leveraging AI—it's about harnessing its transformative potential to create a future where humans and machines connect authentically and collaborate effectively.

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This soft skill is the new Harvard degree, says expert: It’s ‘the biggest competitive differentiator’

There's no shortage of stories about how technical skills in IT, software and data are in high demand and can command a handsome six-figure salary .

But according to one LinkedIn expert, one particular soft skill may be as coveted as an Ivy League education.

Given the fast-changing world of business, hiring managers "want to look for growth mindset," says Aneesh Raman, a vice president and workforce expert at LinkedIn. "This is the new degree, the way that you've been looking for a Harvard degree."

A growth mindset , coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, is the idea that you can continue to improve your abilities, talents and knowledge over time by learning through new experiences. The opposite is having a fixed mindset that you can't improve on your skills.

The advice to prioritize continual learning and development is especially crucial to young professionals today who may one day end up in roles that don't yet exist, Raman says. For example, LinkedIn recently identified fast-growing jobs on the rise in 2024 — including chief growth officer and sustainability analyst — many of which didn't exist  20 years ago .

Developing a growth mindset involves setting challenging goals for yourself, taking risks and seeking feedback and coaching from others, Shekhinah Bass, Goldman Sachs' head of talent strategy, previously told CNBC Make It .

How you respond to feedback is especially important, she says: "Feedback can help you identify your blind spots, so you can shift or change how you're showing up in certain work situations. With a growth mindset, you will see those blind spots as things that are within your control to improve." 

Having a growth mindset is essential to achieving goals, gaining skills, viewing failures as learning opportunities and developing positive changes in your life, according to research .

And it could give you an advantage in the hiring market. To demonstrate a growth mindset in an interview, express your enthusiasm for learning on the job and working with the manager to grow as a valuable team member.

"You've got to get excited about learning as an individual," Raman says. "The biggest competitive differentiator a young grad can have is internalizing the idea that they're going to be learning for the rest of their life and getting excited about it."

Want to land your dream job in 2024?  Take  CNBC's new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview  to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay.

Plus,  sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter  to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

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Thriving in a VUCA world: Balancing tech transformation with soft skills

Learning and development leaders must recognize that increased power skills can make the technology transformation work for the organization, instead of against their workforce.

by Jennifer N Sutherland

April 1, 2024.

Even as technology continues to make our lives easier or better, those same technologies will quickly change the world as we know it. Technological advancement has been growing exponentially for years. The rate of advancement is consistently being measured, so the exact percentage isn’t known. As computer scientist and author Ray Kurzweil states: “We won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century—it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate).”

The impacts of those advancements are multifold. There are social, environmental, political and cultural changes. The impacts on the workplace are still evolving.

One outcome of the accelerated pace of technology’s advancement is that it creates an environment of VUCA. What is VUCA? It was originally a military term that has transitioned to a common business acronym: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity.

• Volatility is the rate and recurrence of change. When technology is changing rapidly and often, it causes a volatile situation.
• Uncertainty relates to unpredictability, when there isn’t a high level of confidence in the forecasted impacts and outcomes of technology.
• Complexity refers to having many interdependent factors, any one of which can cause other changes or downstream outcomes. Complex situations are more difficult to analyze to find the best path forward.
• Ambiguity indicates the situation is unclear or not yet defined, which causes decision making to be murky because there isn’t only one right way.

VUCA is any combination of these challenges.  VUCA is essentially  the intersectionality of how much is known about the situation and how predictable the possible outcomes are.

Each VUCA situation could be different, but there are a few accepted approaches to address it. Building resilience is one traditional approach. Resilience allows us to remain calm and have a positive demeanor when VUCA happens. That calm demeanor and positivity are critical to ensure we can make appropriate decisions, rationalize outcomes and understand the cumulative effect of any actions taken. Think of being resilient as owning your personal domain. Even if you can’t control all the VUCA components. The way a person approaches VUCA, or any change, will have an impact on the outcome.

There is a common counseling concept “E + R = O,” which represents the Event + (your) Reaction = Outcome. Essentially, it means that there are things you can’t control (the Event), but your Reaction will have a significant impact on the Outcome. For example, you can’t control an organizational change at work, but you can control how you react to it. Are you going to embrace the change? Find ways to adapt? Rally against the new normal? Proclaim your dissent? Champion a positive mindset? Each of these are possible reactions. But your reaction will impact the outcome—for yourself, and possibly others. 

Technology advancements cause transformation. Transformation equates to change. But we know that change—good or bad—drives strong emotions, which can also be good or bad. Other skills, such as soft skills, are important to the success of technological transformations.

Organizations should consider the human aspect of any change: How will employees, vendors, customers, potential customers or analysts react? Understanding potential reactions and anticipating the downstream impacts of change is critical. 

Many organizations implement change management processes, project management tools and even strategize the effect on revenue of any new technology (or tool or process). But the knock-on impact must also be analyzed and prepared for. 

This is when soft skills (more recently referred to as “power skills” or “people skills”) need to balance any technology transformation. With the rapid advancement of machine learning and artificial intelligence, many employees are concerned about their job security. There is no denying that technology is transforming the way people work. Yet, power skills are still required. Learning and development leaders must recognize that increased power skills can make the technology transformation work for the organization, instead of against their workforce. 

There are many power skills that are beneficial in a VUCA situation. Empathy will allow leaders to ease employees into future workflow changes. Emotional intelligence will create better working relationships as employees adjust to their new normal. These types of skills help develop employees who are open to learning something new, seek more information and are ready to succeed. Employees with situational awareness, who are comfortable being uncomfortable and are agile enough to make quick decisions but also can change direction when necessary, will thrive in a VUCA situation.

Many resources are available to help organizations address VUCA. For example, the book “Focused, Fast, and Flexible: Creating Agility Advantage in a VUCA World” by Nick Horney and Tom O’Shea, shares a framework that will help organizations “anticipate, adapt and respond quickly to continuous change.”

Power skills like resilience will balance the inevitable technology transformations when encountering VUCA. Leaders will help employees thrive as they help build the new normal. Resilient organizations will grow through VUCA situations and become stronger and more adaptable. This allows the organization to be in a better position for future technological transformations.

There are many predictions about advancements in technology. However, one thing is certain: The future will continue to be VUCA, and the organizations that prioritize power skills will be able to grow through those situations more effectively and successfully, and likely faster.  

Jennifer N Sutherland

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FinanceBuzz

15 Essential Soft Skills if You Want to Move Ahead in Your Career

Posted: December 27, 2023 | Last updated: December 27, 2023

In the fast-paced world of professional advancement, technical expertise alone is not enough to secure career growth. Soft skills — often referred to as interpersonal or people skills — are indispensable if you want to climb the career ladder.

Soft skills help workers collaborate effectively, communicate persuasively, and adapt seamlessly to dynamic work environments.

Here are 15 essential soft skills that are crucial if you want to stop living paycheck to paycheck .

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Communication

Strong communication skills help you articulate ideas clearly and listen more actively. Communicating well fosters collaboration minimizes misunderstandings, and cultivates an environment where ideas flow seamlessly.

Whether conveying complex concepts or fostering team dynamics, effective communication builds bridges and lays the groundwork for professional advancement.

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Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence encompasses self-awareness and empathy for others. Connecting with colleagues on a deeper level helps you resolve conflicts and foster workplace harmony.

People who are skilled at emotional intelligence build positive relationships and create a culture of understanding.

Adaptability

In today's ever-evolving workplace, it is crucial to successfully face shifting demands, learn new technologies, and deal with unexpected circumstances.

Adaptability helps professionals navigate rapidly changing environments with ease. Those who embrace new challenges, quickly acquire new skills, and change strategies when necessary are better positioned to seize emerging opportunities.

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Problem-solving abilities

The ability to solve problems is integral to career growth. You must be able to analyze complex issues, identify underlying causes, and devise effective solutions.

Professionals adept at critical thinking and creating innovative solutions contribute to constant improvement within their organizations.

Time management

Effective time management is about prioritizing tasks, setting realistic goals, and minimizing procrastination.

Strong time management skills boost personal effectiveness and contribute to team success and organizational growth.

Collaboration

The ability to collaborate helps you seamlessly integrate into teams and communicate transparently.

By valuing the collective wisdom and skills of colleagues, you can cultivate an environment of mutual support and innovation and better navigate today’s interconnected professional world.

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Professionals with solid leadership qualities contribute to a positive work culture, encourage the professional development of others, and play a pivotal role in helping their company succeed.

Leaders position themselves as influential agents of change, capable of driving both their own growth and the advancement of their teams.

Critical thinking

Those who excel in critical thinking approach challenges strategically. They dissect problems methodically and contribute to innovative solutions.

Cultivating this skill means enhancing your problem-solving abilities, becoming an effective decision-maker, and driving continuous improvement.

Conflict resolution

Workers skilled in conflict resolution help settle disagreements constructively by mediating disputes and assisting colleagues in finding common ground. 

This helps create a harmonious work environment, enhances teamwork, and supports effective communication.

By navigating conflicts with empathy and tact, you can showcase your ability to contribute to a positive and collaborative workplace culture.

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Networking is a cornerstone of career growth. Building relationships with colleagues, mentors, and peers opens doors to opportunities and cultivates collaborations that propel success.

By nurturing a diverse network, you gain access to valuable resources, which helps you thrive in today's interconnected professional landscape.

Creativity is all about thinking outside the box. By nurturing creativity, you can contribute to transformative change in your workplace.

Creative thinkers possess the power to reimagine possibilities. That makes them valuable in tackling and solving complex problems.

Resilience helps you navigate setbacks while maintaining a positive outlook. Resilient professionals demonstrate the capacity to overcome adversity, maintain focus, and emerge stronger from trials.

By embracing challenges as opportunities for growth, you can showcase your ability to adapt, thrive, and contribute positively to the workplace.

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Empathy is crucial for career growth. This skill involves understanding and sharing the emotions of others, and it can enhance interpersonal relationships.

By genuinely valuing others' perspectives, empathetic individuals cultivate trust and open channels for effective communication and mutual respect.

Negotiation

Those who negotiate well are skilled at reconciling differing viewpoints and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. Professionals adept at negotiation bridge gaps find common ground, and secure agreements that satisfy all parties involved.

This skill requires effective communication, strategic thinking, and an understanding of various perspectives.

Presentation skills

Whether addressing clients, colleagues, or superiors, strong presentation skills help you convey confidence, engage the audience, and effectively communicate ideas.

Professionals who master presentation skills command credibility and inspire action. By delivering compelling presentations, individuals showcase their ability to lead discussions, share knowledge, and leave a lasting impression.

Bottom line

Whether your ambitions involve leadership roles or simply fostering better collaboration, soft skills are important if you want to grow your career and get ahead financially .

Developing them is also one of the best investments you can make in growing your career.

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