Soft skills that you need for a role in the public sector

Want to impress in the public sector and secure a much-needed role change or promotion? Soft skills are more difficult to demonstrate to hiring managers than hard or technical skills that are measurable. So, we have summed up the top skills needed for a role in the public sector as well as how to develop these, keep reading to find out more.

1. Communication

The ability to put your ideas across clearly and concisely through written and verbal communication is crucial. Use resources such as LinkedIn Learning to improve upon your writing skills and develop your confidence in public speaking by leading team meetings more regularly. You can also make notes of when you have used your communication to ensure a rift within your team was resolved, or when you have negotiated a difficult client. These notes are good to have on hand for when you may be asked questions about your communication abilities in interview.

2. Problem Solving and critical thinking

Everyone will face challenges while completing tasks at work, so it is vital that you are able to use critical analysis/thinking to quickly identify the underlying issue and implement an accurate solution, especially under pressure. To ace this skill, you must keep level-headed throughout and ensure the outcome is most suitable for all parties involved. Make notes of specific projects that have encountered problems, and the solutions process you took to resolve these.

3. Organisation and time management 

These two soft skills come hand in hand and are essential for being able to complete tasks to deadlines, being responsible for multiple tasks/projects, prioritising your time as well as tasks and generally keeping on top of your workload. These skills also portray you as a reliable and independent employee. If you struggle with this, you can use something as simple as a diary or planner to write everything down in, including meeting times, deadlines, to-do lists and anything else you need. You could also use digital planners or apps, just find the right technique for you.

4. Leadership

This is key if you want to grow a successful career and are seeking a promotion. If your manager asks you to lead a project or task perhaps, be open to stepping up to the challenge even if it may be something you’ve never done before. This will show that you are capable of taking on more responsibility.

How to develop your soft skills?

Soft skills can take months to learn and years to develop, it all comes with time and practice. However, focus on your weakest skills first. We all have weaknesses and areas we are not too confident in, identify your weakest soft skills and those that are relevant to your role and begin to work on developing them:

1. Resources – look for online classes, videos, books and talks to get useful tips on how to improve those soft skills. We have included some useful resources above that you could use to develop specific soft skills.
2. Learn from your colleagues or managers – talk to the people around you who are good at demonstrating the soft skill that you want to develop and get some useful advice from them.
3. Ask for feedback – an outsider’s perspective can give you crucial insight into the areas of your skill set that you should improve upon. In your next 1-2-1 ask your manager for some feedback from your last project perhaps.

Remember for more career advice such as, refreshing your interim CV or public sector interview tips, check out our blog here.

Are you looking for a new role in the public sector? Our team here at Imperium Resourcing can help you match the perfect role to you. Don’t hesitate to get in touch now via email at [email protected] or view a range of our public sector vacancies here.