Whether we are a undergrad student or a graduate or already in the job market, our educational and training path witnesses us applying for one opportunity or another during at least in initial many years of our career. It takes many shapes and dimensions: applying / searching for volunteer positions, internships and ob course jobs.
I have a long experience of screening and interviewing candidates for various levels: volunteers, interns and job positions. Here in India as well as abroad.
When it comes to the whole cycle of career search for any kind of volunteers, what are the SOFT skills that in your opinion you apply or should be applied? Or what are such skills that you see not being applied?
I give you a couple of such examples:
Emailing CV as an attachment with no proper subject line and no context in the email (leave alone writing a cover letter).
CV containing spelling errors.
It may sound horrible, but I see many such applications coming to the inbox!!
Not reading the JD properly and applying blindly. Also, coming unprepared for the interview, not even knowing what they have applied for. This is also horrible. They waste their time as well as our time, money, and resources.
Soft skills are often more revealing than technical qualifications, especially in early career stages. Communication is one of the most overlooked yet essential skills, clear subject lines, well-structured emails, and error-free CVs reflect professionalism and attention to detail. Many applicants also struggle with basic etiquette like addressing the recipient respectfully, following instructions, or attaching documents correctly. Other soft skills that matter but are often missing include punctuality, clarity of thought, willingness to learn, and the ability to ask relevant questions. These small habits signal reliability and workplace readiness. In today’s competitive environment, mastering these basics can make a tremendous difference in how candidates are perceived.
Usually, students do not receive the necessary training on how to maintain proper and professional etiquette. Lack of awareness is the key issue, and they need proper guidance. It may not always reflect that students are not interested; it is just that they lack guidance.
For an internship or job hunt, strong soft skills are required. Good communication gives ideas clearly, time management, problem solving, positive attitude also matters and teamwork shows you can work well with others.
The number one thing a candidate must do is apply for a job where their skills and experiences match the job. A good ATS supporting resume is a must with some relevant experience to add to it and studying or just a little research about the job is excellent to crack the interview. But most importantly communication skill I is the one which can get a candidate to many places
As a MSc Biotechnology graduate, in our field, lack of internships and technical skills are the major drawbacks when it comes to shortlisting of the resumes. Apart from this, soft skills such as resume building and communication is also very important.
In Any course or curriculum there no guidance on how to maintain or write good CV. In India there no special classes for soft skill that specifically required for job or volunteering. People learn this skill from youtube videos or mostly from their friends.
Usually it happens with medical students is they lack strong communication skills which are really very important. For a medical student its like facing a viva wherein they know that the examiner is surely gonna bash them so instead of replying it just reduces the overall confidence of the student and same applies in interview we aren’t trained for this and hence we face a lot of issues.
Educational institutes normally teach students the academic side of careers, creating “topper” mentality. But when these students come into the working field, they realize they are severely underprepared. This shows us the importance of including soft skills training like etiquettes and communication.
All of us apply for internships, volunteer roles, or jobs at some stage. But many people still make basic mistakes. I often get emails with no subject line, no message, or CVs with spelling errors. These small things matter a lot and can affect your chances, even if you are a good candidate
Referral= Gate pass for interview selection. Networking plays a major role in your job hunt. Having someone to vouch for you, although you will have to crack the interview by yourself.
Improve your communication skills by practising “Introduce yourself “ loudly.
Subject line in email is most important as it creates first impression of the candidate. It should be well-written and should look organised which reflects your professionalism. A clear error free subject line helps recruiters to search a candidate easily in their inbox.
A cv should not have spelling mistakes that clearly reflects the carelessness of the candidate towards the job they are applying to. It creates unprofessionalism and can lead to rejection of the opportunity.
Soft skills are most important thing for a fresher to get into a job. It plays a major role as a bridge between the working professionals and the fresher.
Anyone who want to do internship in any field must know some mandatory things especially for students who are interested in doing internships they must know for which field they are suitable,once they decided they can proceed further,by developing certain requirements for their selected field for example if they want to be an medical writer they must develop their communication skills,time management,researching skills etc.Then they want to create a proper resume in which they have to mention their skills properly.
Many of the Freshers are no idea about how much the Job description matters, The CV should be modified or edited that should be aligned with the Job description before apply for a position everyone should check how many of the Skills are matching with the Job description they are applying, but no one tells about all these things during academics everyone says make a Good resume or ATS friendly resume but no one tells how to match the resume to the Job description, I am also a Fresher so I can understand how that will be getting rejections from the recruiters all the time due to some mistakes
Even though basic requirements like clear communication, attention to detail and professionalism is important. Certain soft-skills are of prime importance as they shape first impression , and understanding more than credentials.
In early carrier stages, soft skills plays major role for the internships and job hunting. Mostly, communication skills are preferably important for anything to explain to everyone and other skills like CV creation, Literature review, documentation are important too.
Most of students don’t read job description, qualification and responsibilities. These things decides the what skills regarding job and without these things CV is not good