Hard skills, soft skills, mad skills… All these terms seem meaningless. However, they can be capital for anyone looking to retrain or find a new job. Indeed, these terms bring together all the skills that can be assessed during a job interview.
Today, recruiters are often looking for atypical profiles who can not only perform tasks with rigor and experience, but also bring a certain dynamic to the company.
In other words, many companies are no longer just looking for professional skills in candidates. They are looking for an employee with a certain personality.
It is following this evolution of the labor market that these terms were imported into France. It is a question of defining the different types of skills that can, in fact, be sought by recruiters.
The expression hard skill aims to define the most common range of skills, which are theoretically found on any Curriculum Vitae. Literally, this term could be translated as “hard skills”. It therefore corresponds to all these skills acquired through learning or experience.
Concretely, hard skills bring together all the technical skills that are taught at school or during professional life. They correspond to the know-how of the employee, which means that they must necessarily be highlighted on a CV or during a job interview. Indeed, they make it possible to show the recruiter that you have all the keys in hand to be able to carry out the requested tasks.
Only today, these skills are no longer enough to guarantee employment and others must also be put forward.
Unlike hard skills, soft skills correspond, in French, to soft skills. Quite different from the previous term, these aptitudes correspond much more to human qualities than to technical skills.
It is indeed all those qualities and values that forge the personality of someone. Communication, empathy, creativity… All these qualities that cannot be acquired are more often sought in CVs.
Mentioning them during an interview can also be a good point because it shows the employer what type of person you are. If you highlight your qualities, he will be able to get an idea of the person you are and will have an easier time imagining you within his team.
But in recent years, a new type of skill has appeared, these are the mad skills.
Literally, mad skills are mad skills. In other words, it is all these skills or experiences that are particularly rare and can add value to a profile.
These skills actually include all those acquired outside of professional or school life, generally in the context of a hobby or a center of interest. So, if you are or have been a great sportsman, mentioning it during an interview can be a very good point.
According to Cadremploi, candidates over 45 generally stand out during interviews if they are involved in community life. Indeed, it demonstrates an interest in just causes and may appeal to many recruiters.
Whatever they are, it is important to know how to highlight your mad skills in your CV or during an interview because they may allow you to be able to make a difference against another candidate.
