As you progress in your white-collar built environment career, you continually gain and develop both your technical and soft skills. However, soft skills are rarely included enough as they should be on your CV. When refreshing your CV after finishing a role, your experience section tends to include a summary of the day-to-day technical responsibilities and skills that you utilised and learnt; and it can be easy to forget all the soft skills that you gained along the way, especially when trying to make sure you include as much information as possible.
Our advice? Don’t forget those soft skills, many of them become second nature to you, especially as you begin to manage larger projects and teams. Consider a handy Skills Summary side tab where you can show off what you can do, or alternatively, be sure to include keywords that highlight your skillset across the board. Check our list of the top soft skills that should be on your CV.
1. Commercial awareness
Why it is important: Show hiring managers that you have a concrete understanding of how your role fits into the project and its wider goals within the construction space. Understanding economic and political trends and how they affect the industry automatically shows both initiatives to keep up to date with the industry, as well as your passion for the career you have chosen. Hiring managers may ask you focussed questions where you may have to indicate an awareness of cost considerations, alternatively, the interviewer may only ask questions where they are keen for you to show your understanding of the role. Having commercial awareness skills on your CV will stand out to the employer as this skill directly fits into the interview structure and questions.
Want to clue up on this skill? Always be sure before adding any skills to your CV that you are well versed enough to explain them at the interview stage. Keep up to date with industry news by following built environment news sites on socials, as well as connecting with prominent figures within the industry and your chosen field. Set some time aside once a week to read the latest stories to really solidify your knowledge and understanding.
2. Communication is key
Why it is important: This skill may seem an obvious choice, but you would be surprised at how many forget to highlight this on their CV. Using concrete examples of your communication skills is the key to standing out as someone the employer would want as an asset to the team. From supply chain, to client, to internal colleagues, your communication should adapt to these different scenarios to build positive and efficient working relationships. Showing you have experience in utilising various communication techniques with different people, evidence to the hiring manager that you will be able to hit the ground running with all aspects of the project and ensure your team feel comfortable discussing ideas, suggestions and issues.
Want to clue up on this skill? You may have more communication experience than you think! Peel apart your most recent roles and what communications you had with various people resulted in positive outcomes. However, attending networking events and reading industry specific literature.
3. Influence – in leadership and beyond
Why it is important: When hiring managers are looking to hire a white-collar construction professional, they are not searching for a manager, they want someone who can motivate, inspire, and create a confident, transparent team. Your ability to not only put forth problem-solving ideas and have them backed by your team, but also to encourage them to confidently challenge and put forward their own suggestions is key to being a good influential team member, so if you have examples of this, make sure it is on your CV.
Want to clue up on this skill? Maybe you are stepping into your first Project Management role and want to highlight your ability to lead and influence major decisions; one way you can show this skill is to give examples on your CV where you have taken the time to assess a situation and proposed a successful solution.
4. A problem-solving approach
Why it is important: Hiring managers will be looking for someone who is responsible for ensuring everyone involved in the project has the same shared vision and goals. To achieve this, vital experience in problem-solving and critical thinking is required; the ideal candidate will be able to find efficient, cost-effective and fast solutions to any issues occurring with people’s work, project schedules and strategy.
Want to clue up on this skill? Practice writing solutions to mock scenarios that are similar to ones that you have experienced in previous roles. This simple exercise will help you build upon your already existing skills and help you to train your mind to think critically easier, and to produce solutions quicker.
5. Conflict management
Why it is important: Projects are not always guaranteed to run smoothly, and interviewers know this. They will be looking for someone who has experience in diffusing the inevitable conflict that arises when unexpected issues occur, knowing how to handle situations where you can keep all parties happy and aligned in their goals is a huge benefit to the team’s morale and the success of the project.
Want to clue up on this skill? Again, practicing solutions to mock scenarios is a great way to ensure you feel equipped to handle these scenarios, and will prepare you for any interview related questions.
Of course, there are a wealth of other important soft skills to include such as: effective time management, flexibility and organisation.
If you are looking for your next white-collar role within the built environment our specialist team can help, from more CV advice, to interview prep, we are here to support you through the process and find you a role that aligns with your personal and professional goals. Get in touch with us today for more information: info@wearepillar.com
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