--- title: "Highlight your soft skills in a job interview | Actual group" description: "Your degrees aren't everything. Discover how to highlight your human qualities in an interview to make the difference and land the job." canonical_url: "https://www.actualgroup.com/en/blog/comment-valoriser-ses-soft-skills-en-entretien-d-embauche" locale: en meta: "og:description": "Your degrees aren't everything. Discover how to highlight your human qualities in an interview to make the difference and land the job." "og:title": "Highlight your soft skills in a job interview" --- [Advice](https://www.actualgroup.com/en/blog/category/advice) # **How to highlight your soft skills in a job interview?** July 6, 2026·5 min read [Advice](https://www.actualgroup.com/en/blog/category/advice) ## 3 tips for highlighting your soft skills in a job interview Nowadays, degrees and technical knowledge are no longer enough! Recruiters are placing just as much emphasis on soft skills—those transferable skills that make you a unique candidate! From sending your CV to the job interview, your soft skills are crucial to standing out from other applicants and landing a job. But how can you highlight them to succeed in your recruitment process? ## Soft skills: what are they? Soft skills are behavioral, transferable, and human qualities unique to each individual. They relate to abilities and mindsets that help you thrive in life. Unlike hard skills, or technical skills, they are not tied to a specific job or technical context. They represent your human capital. However, they should be distinguished from personality traits and core values. While natural predispositions can make acquiring them easier, soft skills can be learned through methods and techniques, put into practice, and developed. Hard skills and soft skills are therefore complementary. ## Why are companies interested in soft skills? Today, successful recruitment means hiring a candidate who not only has the expertise required for the position, but also a personality aligned with the company's values and behavioral skills that allow them to adapt to their environment. Recruiters are therefore placing more and more emphasis on soft skills: nearly one out of two companies now uses tests or role-playing scenarios to assess candidates' behavioral skills (Apec, 2026 study on executive recruitment practices). ## What's in it for the candidate? Standing out! Once you get past the initial screening phase in recruitment, your CV is no longer enough. With equal skills, you will stand out from other applicants through your personal qualities, your potential, and your ability to grow. Indeed, technical job skills can become obsolete, whereas behavioral skills, being more stable, can be transferred from one field to another. They therefore create value for a company. In temporary work, where many positions are accessible without a degree or professional experience, interpersonal qualities are the main asset to highlight in your application. The same goes for recent graduates and career changers. ## Identifying your soft skills To find your strengths, self-reflection is essential. Soft skills can stem from both your personal and professional experience. Start by learning about the different categories of soft skills and the qualities valued by employers to easily navigate them and link them to your experience and career ambitions. Next, step back and look inward! Do you find self-assessment difficult? In addition to personality tests that provide guidance, here are two accessible ways to make the exercise easier. ### Asking those around you Reach out to loved ones, former colleagues, partners, etc. to help you identify your soft skills. Ask each person to name 3 or 4 of your main dominant behaviors and note the ones that come up most frequently. ### Analyzing key situations Make a list of personal and professional successes and challenges you have faced. Recall how you reacted in those situations, and identify the strengths that frequently recur and characterize you. Through your past experiences, you will already be able to identify a number of soft skills that had a positive impact. ## Choosing the right soft skills to highlight when applying After taking a step back, you will probably realize that you have several key strengths. However, the goal is not to list an endless stream of keywords on your CV, your cover letter, or during your interview with the recruiter. You need to select the soft skills that are most relevant and suited to your job search situation. Here are two tips to help you do that. ### Linking soft skills to professional experiences Before the interview, select only 3 to 5 soft skills that align with your career path. Because it isn't enough to simply say you are creative, agile, or have great interpersonal skills—you need to justify it and seamlessly bring your soft skills into the conversation by linking the qualities that best fit you to one or more previous missions. ### Spotting clues in job postings Every soft skill is an asset. But depending on the industry and the role, some are more sought after than others. Pay close attention to job ads. In the "profile" section, recruiters often mention the qualities required for the position. Identify those that apply to you and highlight them in your application. ## Promoting your transferable skills during the job interview Not easy to highlight your soft skills since they aren't quantifiable? That's true. However, there are two ways to showcase them: directly by contextualizing them, and indirectly by demonstrating them through your demeanor in front of the recruiter. ### Contextualizing your soft skills This is about "telling the story" of your personal qualities to your interviewer. It means integrating them into your speech, linking them to an experience, and providing concrete, concise details. The more context you provide, the more convincing you will be, and the higher your chances of being hired. ### Adopting an attitude in line with your skills Body language plays a vital role during a job interview. Your posture and behavior serve as indicators of your personal skills. There's no question of stammering or avoiding eye contact during the conversation if you listed "public speaking" on your CV, for example. It is essential to always remain genuine and honest about your human and interpersonal abilities, as your attitude can either reinforce or contradict them. Adaptability, leadership, teamwork, responsiveness, sense of responsibility… Each of us possesses soft skills that are real assets when it comes to getting hired. To make the most of them, simply identify which ones you have and which ones are relevant to the position you're aiming for. And if you feel you need a skills assessment to get to know yourself better, contact your Actual advisor. Image credit: © magnific ## **Articles you might like** [AdviceOctober 13, 2026**An up-to-date profile = one step ahead in your job search** Availability, licenses, CACES, mobility, CV: discover the information to update on your candidate profile so recruiters can spot you.**Read the article **](https://www.actualgroup.com/en/blog/an-up-to-date-profile-one-step-ahead-in-your-job-search) [AdviceJuly 21, 2026**Career change: learning to sell yourself to find a first job** Are you changing careers? 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