Soft Skills and Employability:

Career advancement in clinical research often centers on technical qualifications, certifications, and networking. Unfortunately, soft skills are often overlooked, yet soft skills and employability go hand-in-hand. Having well-developed soft skills is critical if you want to be competitive as a job seeker. And, research shows soft skills outweigh hard skills in determining job performance and career growth.

Soft Skills and Employability: Why They Matter

Our placement data underscores that only 15–20% of selected candidates are a perfect match for hard skill requirements. What does this mean for you, the job seeker? It highlights the growing emphasis on soft skills in hiring decisions. Our data aligns with research from Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation, and Stanford Research Center. They reported that 85% of job success is attributed to well-developed soft skills, while only 15% is due to technical expertise. This finding is echoed by employer surveys conducted by LinkedIn, with 93% of employers stating that soft skills are as important or more important than hard skills when making hiring decisions. 

Isn’t this good news for candidates with less experience or technical knowledge? Calling all Aspiring or Junior professionals – you compete with more experienced candidates when you have well-developed soft skills! As the workplace continues to evolve, the ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and adapt is becoming a key differentiator for employability and long-term career success.

Why? Because soft skills such as communication, teamwork, adaptability, and emotional intelligence are essential for effective workplace interactions and are highly valued because they are transferable across roles and industries. 

What Our Data Shows: Top Fails Due to Poor Soft Skills

Our data shows that just 13% of placements who were terminated or placed on a performance plan struggled due to hard skills or technical abilities. An overwhelming 87% faced these actions because of issues with their soft skills. Here are the most common soft skill shortcomings:

Key Soft Skills for Employability in Clinical Research

Examples of the Top Soft Skills Required in Clinical Research

Based on our clients’ requirements, here are the top soft skills required to be effective in our industry. 

• Communication: Clear, accurate, and timely information sharing; active listening; resolving compliance issues.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Building harmonious relationships; supporting a collaborative culture.
• Leadership and Professionalism: Demonstrating initiative, critical thinking, and accountability; maintaining professional standards.
• Cultural Awareness: Respecting diversity; fostering inclusive, culturally sensitive work environments.
• Organizational and Time Management: Delivering quality work on time; adapting to shifting priorities.
• Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: Generating creative solutions and making sound decisions under pressure.
• Flexibility/Adaptability: Adjusting to new processes and priorities.
• Emotional Intelligence: Managing personal emotions and recognizing those of others.

The Real Question

Are soft skills teachable? If we are bold enough to state that 85% of placements and career success are related to well-developed soft skills, can we at least state that they can be developed? 

Absolutely. Check out the evidence below: 

Educational Outcomes: 

Surveys of business school alumni show that more than three-quarters believe their graduate education significantly advanced their soft skills, suggesting that structured learning environments can foster these abilities. 

Training Effectiveness: 

Scientific reviews and industry practice confirm that focused training interventions such as coaching, mentoring, interactive workshops, and real-world simulations can provide a wide range of soft skills, including communication, conflict management, teamwork, and empathy. 

Public Programs:

Curricula specifically designed to teach soft skills, such as those developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, demonstrate that these competencies can be systematically developed, even among youth and individuals with disabilities.

Behavioral Change:

Studies show that soft skills training can lead to measurable changes in behavior and even brain function, particularly in areas like empathy and emotional intelligence.

How Do You Assess and Develop Your Soft Skills?

Unlike hard skills, soft skills are not effectively learned through passive methods like lectures or reading alone. They require active engagement, practice, and motivation. Here are some guidelines to help you assess and develop your soft skills. 

• Use behavioral interview questions. Have a colleague, mentor, or family member conduct a mock interview with you using behavioral style questions. If you are able, record the session and review your responses. Always solicit feedback from your interviewer to identify weak areas. 
• Create (or have a colleague or supervisor create) real-world work environment problems where you can role-play solutions. Ask your colleague or supervisor to provide feedback on your solution and/or response. 
• Focus on improving 1–3 soft skills at a time with measurable goals and deadlines.
• Seek mentorship, pursue targeted training (such as the “Soft Skills to Pay the Bills” program), and gain new experiences like cross-training or leading projects.
• Regularly solicit feedback, reflect on progress, reassess strengths and weaknesses, and update your development plan.

Are There Limits to Developing Soft Skills? 

Yes…especially if you aren’t open to feedback. While soft skills are teachable, the degree of improvement can vary based on: 

• Individual Differences: Some people may have a higher baseline or greater motivation to develop soft skills, making them more receptive to feedback and training. 
• Ongoing Process: Mastery of soft skills is a continual process, not a one-time achievement. Sustained effort and real-world practice are essential for lasting change. 

Highlighting Soft Skills for Employability

Soft Skills for Your Resume

Effectively articulating soft skills on your resume starts with a thorough review of the job description. When crafting your resume, it’s important to highlight key soft skills that are both required for the role and listed in the job description. 

Focus on the soft skills where you have genuine strengths, and be sure to authentically incorporate them into your resume. Here are a few examples: 

• If you excel in collaboration and communication, you might write: “Collaborated with the leadership team to create a mentorship program that supported 20 new Clinical Research Associates as they onboarded onto the project.” 
• You can showcase your adaptability, problem-solving, and organizational skills with: “Adapted to rapidly changing project requirements by implementing flexible scheduling, ensuring all deadlines were met during a high-volume product launch.”
• Here is an example that shows how you motivated others: “Facilitated weekly brainstorming sessions, encouraging team creativity and resulting in the development of three new service offerings within one quarter.”
• And here is another one that highlights your time management and organizational skills:  “Managed competing priorities by organizing project timelines and delegating tasks, leading to the successful completion of a major campaign two weeks ahead of schedule.”

Did you notice that every example highlighted strengths in multiple soft skills? Each example integrated a soft skill with a measurable achievement, thus demonstrating both the skill and its impact in a professional context. Using specific, real data like the examples above will make your resume (thus your candidacy) more compelling and credible.

Soft Skills in the Interview

Even if an interviewer doesn’t explicitly ask about soft skills, it’s important to be prepared to highlight them during your interview. Start by carefully scanning the job description to identify the key soft skills emphasized for the role, then map those skills to your personal strengths. 

Use behavioral interview sample questions to guide your preparation, writing out thoughtful answers that demonstrate how you embody these skills in real situations. Finally, practice your responses with a colleague, mentor, or family member. Practicing will help you build confidence and ensure you can effectively showcase your soft skills when the opportunity arises.

Conclusion

Soft skills are fundamental to employability and career advancement in all industries. By actively assessing, developing, and showcasing these skills, job seekers can significantly enhance their job prospects. And all professionals can magnify their workplace effectiveness, thus boosting career growth opportunities.

Need help to assess and develop your soft skills? Or perhaps you would like some guidance on how to highlight your soft skills in your resume or showcase them in an interview. Feel free to reach out or join our community; we are here to help.