When looking for a teaching position, hard skills might be easier to explain. However, we should not forget our soft skills that will play an essential role in the hiring process, primarily because in the teaching field interaction is complex and constant.
While hard skills are a stepping-stone on a resume, if they are not framed by soft skills, there will not be many chances to advance in the hiring process.
What do Hard Skills and Soft Skills describe?
Hard skills refer to the technical knowledge and training we have on a particular matter. These are the type of skills that can be learned, and they show your prospective employer that you know how, that you have the technical knowledge to carry out your duties in a specific position. They are measurable and teachable. Some examples of hard skills are:
- Formal education
- Experience
- Licenses
- Professional training
- Professional development
- Computer skills
- Knowledge of educational technology, etc.
On the other hand, soft skills refer to personality features that transcend what you do and focus on howyou do it. We all have verbal and non-verbal exchanges with other people, but what is our communication style? For example, are we analytical or intuitive while interacting with others? We are born with our soft abilities; however, we can mold them as we grow up.
For teachers, soft abilities are a must because they meet all kinds of individuals, each one with his or her personality and coming from different cultural and social backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, etc.
There is an array of soft abilities that make excellent teachers, such as:
- Understanding
- Patience
- Flexibility
- Empathy
- Creativity
- Passion
- Motivation, etc.
However, two soft skills stand out as essential: communication and management.
It is common to say something like“excellent communication skills." What does it mean in a teaching context? It will be helpful to explain, with some detail, your communicative style and communication strategies in terms of:
- Collaborative/ Team work
- Interpersonal relations
- Trust building
- Your predisposition to listening
- Leadership
- Positive attitude
- How you handle written communications
- Interaction with parents, etc.
Regarding management, several aspects of significant importance play a central role in and outside the classroom and should be included in your application process. For example:
- Classroom management and organization
- Lesson planning
- Discipline
- Student performance
- Time management
These aspects will define you as an educator for the most part. And this is where book definitions will not be advantageous because every teacher knows, for example, the elements of a lesson plan. The point here is to demonstrate how you would manage topics, activities, assessments, feedbacks, etc.; how you would implement methodology with your personal touch is what will make you unique.
Skills in the Hiring Process
Although there may not be enough space to display your soft skills on a resume, you may want to include the main ones there and further elaborate in the cover letter. You can also ask your references to talk about them in their recommendations. Best of all, you can grasp the opportunity to display them at an interview. For instance, the communication style you use with your interviewers, explaining yourself with clarity, good manners, and enthusiasm will tell them more than a thousand written words.
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