Hard skills show what you can do, but soft skills show how you do it, and that combination is what sets successful students and future professionals apart. Success in school and future careers depends on balancing a combination of both soft and hard skills. In other words, even if you’re the most talented scriptwriter, researcher, or graphic designer, if you can’t work well with others, or meet deadlines in a timely fashion, you won’t necessarily land your dream job. This is because companies and organizations want to invest in individuals who will contribute to a positive work environment and culture.
Hard skills are often specific to your prospective career. As such, they are primarily developed in college, grad school, and/or the workforce. Which leads us to the question: What should you focus on if you don’t have specific career goals? Well, the good news is that soft job skills are lifelong skills that you can start developing right away, even if you haven’t chosen a college major yet. This is one of the many reasons why using your high school career as an opportunity to develop teamwork, leadership, positive communication, and organizational skills is so important. In some respects, hard job skills will come in time, but soft job skills must be developed carefully over time. And the sooner you can start cultivating high school soft skills, the better!
In this article, we’ll discuss the differences between hard and soft job skills in greater depth, as well as address topics such as: why both skill types are important and how to develop and apply soft and hard job skills inside and outside of the classroom. We’ll also provide you with plenty of practical examples. So if you’re working on writing a high school resume with no work experience, don’t worry, you’re in great hands!
Why Both Skill Types Are Important
Hard skills help achieve technical goals, whereas soft skills foster teamwork, adaptability, and positive communication. College admissions officers and employers value students who bring both sets of strengths to the table. This means that in addition to being proficient in various softwares or being multilingual (great examples of “hard skills”), admissions officers and employers are also looking for candidates who are motivated, work well with others, and have exceptional time management skills. Overall, fostering a balanced skillset, with a combination of hard and soft essential life skills, supports lifelong learning and ensures future employability.
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Understanding Soft Skills
Soft skills refer to a combination of personal and interpersonal strengths, such as creativity, group work, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence. While some of these strengths may feel more natural than others, it’s important to remember that soft skills are often reflective of personal growth. In other words, interpersonal skills, much like social skills for high school students, are indeed soft skills that you can learn and develop over time.
For example, if you currently struggle with staying organized, you aren’t doomed to always have a messy desk and forget deadlines. With time and effort, you’ll learn to develop healthy habits and routines that support your personal and professional goals. Whether that means setting reminders on your phone, buying yourself more office supplies, or asking your parents and teachers for help keeping you accountable, you can learn how to be more organized.
Now, before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s take a quick look at 20 soft job skills so that you can have a more complete understanding of what soft job skills actually refer to:
Active Listening
Adaptability
Attention to Detail
Conflict Resolution
Creativity
Critical Thinking
Decision-Making
Dependability
Emotional Intelligence
Leadership
Organization
Prioritization
Problem-Solving
Resiliency
Motivation
Negotiation
Teamwork
Time Management
Work Ethic
Written and Verbal Communication
Before we shift gears and look at professional hard job skills, it’s important to acknowledge that soft job skills are especially relevant for students and young professionals who haven’t had the opportunity to gain practical work experience. So keep that in mind when you start writing your first high school resume with no work experience and be sure to highlight your soft skills in earnest.
Understanding Hard Skills
While soft skills emphasize confidence and personal growth, hard job skills emphasize technical capabilities, like speaking a foreign language, playing a musical instrument, or knowing how to correctly use mathematical formulas.
In high school, the best way to cultivate hard job skills is to take challenging courses or complete certifications that interest and inspire you. After all, the more you learn inside the classroom, the more capable you’ll be outside of the classroom. That means that foreign language, research, and technology skills for high school students are valuable investments you can make in your future.
The further you progress in a career, the more hard job skills you’ll develop. This is because hard skills often build on one another and get more specialized the more you learn and grow in a specific field or subject. Broadly speaking, though, hard job skills involved technical or specialized knowledge.
Here are 20 hard job skills that may eventually find their way onto your resume:
Accounting
Audio Engineering
Budget Management
Coding
Copywriting
Cybersecurity
Data Analysis
Digital Marketing
Editing
Event Planning
Grant Writing
Graphic Design
Information Technology (IT Support)
Photography
Project Management
Programming (e.g., Python, Java)
Research Skills
Technical Writing
Video Editing
Web Development
Finding the Right Balance
Hard skills, like using digital tools, analyzing data, or managing a project, give you structure and efficiency. They also help you complete tasks accurately. Soft skills, on the other hand, help you navigate group dynamics, share ideas clearly, and make sure everyone feels included in the process.
When these two different sets of skills work together, you’re able to approach challenges with both confidence and curiosity. Finding an appropriate balance between hard and soft skills also helps you grow into someone who others enjoy working with. Not just because you get things done, but because you help make the process better for everyone involved. That’s how candidates truly stand out in an interview and make a lasting impression on a future employer.
Applying Essential Skills Beyond the Classroom
As previously mentioned, learning how to combine soft and hard skills will help you succeed in the job market. But what about before that? How can you find practical, real-life ways to prepare yourself for success in a future professional role?
Here’s a list of different tasks and opportunities for you to work on developing (and balancing) your hard and soft skills outside of the classroom:
Join the debate club to strengthen public speaking and critical thinking skills.
Participate in athletics to build teamwork, discipline, and time management.
Complete an internship to practice responsibility, technical skills, and workplace communication.
Volunteer at a local organization to foster empathy, collaboration, and community awareness.
Tutor younger students to develop active listening and patience.
Join student government to practice leadership, organization, and project planning.
Work a part-time job to gain customer service skills and greater responsibility.
Help run a school event to improve event planning, communication, and multitasking.
Participate in robotics or STEM clubs to strengthen coding, engineering, and teamwork skills.
Join the school newspaper to develop writing and editing skills.
Take on a leadership role in a club to build decision-making and organizational skills.
Participate in Model UN to practice diplomacy, research, and collaborative problem-solving.
Join a music group or choir to develop focus, cooperation, and performance skills.
Start a small business to learn about budgeting, marketing, and self-motivation.
Start a blog or podcast to build technical and storytelling skills.
Join a study group to practice collaboration, facilitation, and accountability.
Seek out job shadowing opportunities to gain career insights.
Help manage social media for a school club to build digital marketing skills.
Participate in theater to improve public speaking skills, confidence, and creative expression.
Assist in a lab or research project role to build scientific skills, precision, and perseverance.
Conclusion: Grow Both Soft Skills and Hard Skills with Polygence
Here at Polygence, we believe that when like-minded peers work in small, collaborative environments, under the guidance of one of our expert research mentors, they are given the unique opportunity to blend soft and hard skill development. This is because by practicing leadership, creativity, and technical skills together, students are able to receive support from peers and mentors through real-world projects.
Our Polygence Pod program offers lots of unique options. Whether you’re interested in Cancer Treatment, Lab-Grown Organs, The Stock Market, Venture Capital, or anything in between, Polygence is sure to have a program reflective of your goals and interests! Remember, thriving in modern education means mastering both soft and hard skills. And Polygence provides an environment where students can collaborate, innovate, and grow in every dimension of learning.
Interested in learning more about our programs? Check out our parent and student testimonials!