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You Do Have Skills!

Updated: Jan 31

And They Might Just Be Your Golden Admission Ticket

You do have skills and identifying them as well as the personal growth you have undergone to gain them could be your golden admission ticket!

How Hard Skills and Soft Skills Can Differentiate Your Application and Get You Admitted!


Human beings are always learning. Whether we are doing so in the focused collaboration of a high school classroom or in the raucous atmosphere of a debate tournament, we are always learning skills -- hard skills and soft skills -- that make us better students, leaders, collaborators, and thinkers.


Understanding the skills you have developed in high school and how they have prepared you to be an excellent college student could be your golden ticket to standing out in the competitive college admission landscape... and you just might learn something really cool about yourself along the way!


Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills


Hard Skills

Defined as specific, teachable, and measurable abilities that can be acquired through education, training, or hands-on experience. Hard skills are specific to successfully performing a job and, as such, can be tested or certified.


Examples:

  • Technical skills (e.g., programming, data analysis, graphic design)

  • Language proficiency (e.g., speaking Spanish fluently)

  • Writing skills (e.g., creating technical reports, grant proposals)

  • Mathematical abilities (e.g., statistical analysis, budgeting)

  • Machine operation (e.g., operating medical devices, heavy machinery)

  • Certifications (e.g., CPR certification, AWS certification)


How hard skills are demonstrated: Through degrees, certifications, work samples, or tests.


Soft Skills

Defined as the personal attributes, traits, and interpersonal skills developed through experiences that help to navigate the workplace or educational spaces. Soft skills are often harder to measure but are critical nonetheless. 


Examples:

  • Communication (e.g., verbal, written, active listening)

  • Problem-solving (e.g., creative thinking, conflict resolution)

  • Leadership (e.g., motivating a team, decision-making)

  • Emotional intelligence (e.g., empathy, self-awareness)

  • Time management (e.g., prioritizing tasks, meeting deadlines)

  • Collaboration (e.g., working effectively in teams)


How soft skills are demonstrated: Through behavior, relationships, and feedback from peers or supervisors.


Key Differences

Aspect

Hard Skills

Soft Skills

Nature

Technical, measurable

Interpersonal, subjective

Acquired Through

Education, training, practice

Experience, observation, self-awareness

Measurement

Certifiable, testable

Observed through behavior, team dynamics

Application

Job-specific tasks

All roles and interactions



Why Both Matter

Hard skills get your foot in the door (e.g., you need specific expertise to qualify for a job).

Soft skills help you thrive in building relationships, solving problems, and adapting to challenges.


Both hard and soft skills also matter a great deal in the university application process. As you consider each document you put together – from your high school resume to your personal statement – the goal you are trying to achieve is effectively communicating both your readiness academically for the work demanded at university (the hard skills you have mastered) and the aspects of your personality and character that will play essential roles in how you interact with professors, administrators, and peers. 


 

How to Incorporate Hard Skills and Soft Skills Into Different Pieces of Your Application to Show Personal Growth


Resume/Activity Section


Review Your High School Resume for Hard Skills and Soft Skills

If you haven't already created a high school resume, I highly recommend you do. You can find a free template here. I also recommend that you read this blog post about my favorite resume building exercise to walk through with students.


Each activity you enter onto your high school resume documet will include a number of bullet points detailing the most significant accomplishments and learning outcomes during your participation. As you work to fine tune your resume, do these things:

  • Consider the hard skills you learned by participating in each activity. If you didn't learn anything new through participation in an extracurricular activity, what hard skills had you previously learned that you utilized in the different clubs and organizations you engaged with?

  • Consider the soft skills you learned by participating in each activity. How did you learn them? Be as specific as you can. How did you know that you were using your soft skill effectively? How did you further develop your soft skills in each extracurricular activity?


Here's an example of a resume activity a student might include. I have highlighted opportunities to talk about hard skills in orange and soft skills in yellow.


Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award, 11th Grade, ~10 hours/week for 12 weeks

Winner of International Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award in Transforming Education through Technology, Winner of US Navy’s Gemini Award 

  • Developed an artificial intelligence-based application (hard skill required here for coding, etc.) that helped students prepare for presentations in a cost-effective, less intrusive manner than speech coaching.

  • Spent 100+ hours over a nine-month period to create a business product with a four-person team (soft skill here for team work, dedication to team effort, leadership) that passed three rounds of competition

  • Created a one-minute video, 6000-word business plan, five-minute video, (hard skills here for content creation) provisional patent, and six-minute judged pitch on stage at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida  (soft skills here for public speaking, leadership, charisma)

  • Winner of the Gemini Award from the US Navy, awarded to only one team from 2200 entries for distinguished characteristics of innovation, teamwork and hard work (soft skills award given to the team!)


Personal Statement/ Why Major Essay

Consider How You Might Highlight Hard and Soft Skills in Essay Prompts

Common in the essay writing process is inclusion of life events, academic challenges, and a-ha moments you have experienced that have led you to your intended major, guided your extracurricular activity planning, and shaped your character.


Including information about the skills you possess -- both hard and soft -- that make you a great candidate for admission, your major, or a career path starts with giving a name to those skills that make you uniquely qualified.


Example/Activity

Essay prompts like this one are very common in the college application process.


"Please tell us why you have indicated your first choice major. What academic or life experience has led to you it? "


Imagine that you are drafting a response to this prompt. First, identify a major that your have already decided upon of one that you might consider if you haven't made a final decision yet.


Ask yourself what hard skills a professional will need to successfully pursue a career in this field. Then consider the soft skills that will be equally important. Finally, think about how you have learned these hard and soft skills. What experiences in and outside of the classroom helped you develop them. What skills do you think you still need to develop? How have you taken steps to address those areas of growth?


To help you continue brainstorming, consider the list of adjectives below that help name soft skills and the lists of hard skills commonly mastered by students pursuing certain academic majors in university.


Adjectives to Describe Soft Skills

(Click on the arrows next to each soft skill descriptor for related skills and skill descriptions to help you craft your resume or essays.)

Communication Skills

  • Articulate

  • Clear

  • Diplomatic

  • Empathetic

  • Persuasive

  • Patient

  • Responsive

  • Tactful

Interpersonal Skills

Problem-Solving Skills

Leadership Skills

Work Ethic

Adaptability

Teamwork

Time Management and Organization

Emotional Intelligence



Identifying Hard Skills Based on Major


 

Why Skills Are So Important in Your Application Narrative


College admission officers read applicant's essays seeking to understand them better as human beings -- who are they beyond on the grades on a transcript or the list of extracurriculars in the common application activity section.


The skills an applicant has developed through personal, academic, creative, and professional pursuits help to paint a more holistic picture of the person on the other side of the application and a clearer understanding of how they will take advantage of similar growth opportunities in college and how they will continue to contribute to their collegiate community.

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