But what are soft skills? If you haven't found out yet, it's time to enter the soft skills surgery.
Team work
"Team work is about having the ability to build and maintain positive relationships both within and across teams," says graduate recruitment manager Angela Hodson from Tesco.
"Being able to work well in a team situation involves working in partnership with other people; sharing knowledge and skills; and understanding the contribution each individual makes to a team.
"It’s also about being aware of how to get the best out of other team members, so that the different skill sets and experiences within a team function well together to contribute to the team’s overall effectiveness."
How can candidates get this soft skill?
"These skills can be developed through a number of experiences," explains Angela. "All graduates have worked in team situations, whether in part-time jobs, sporting teams or group assessments during their education, where they have had to work with others to achieve a joint goal.
"Give an example of a previous team activity to demonstrate your experience and learning where you displayed qualities of being able to work effectively in a team situation."
How can candidates demonstrate this soft skill to employers?
"At Tesco we look for people who have a positive impact in a team situation," she adds. "People who are collaborative, support the team’s objectives, and are committed to the team’s purpose and decisions.
"We ask applicants applying to graduate programmes about their customer service and team working experience during the application stage. Graduate applicants also take part in a one-day assessment centre.
"As part of the assessment centres, individuals are assessed on their contributions to a team during a group activity."
Leadership
‘Soft skills, such as leadership, often make the most difference to the success of a business," says Richard Irwin, senior manager of student recruitment at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).
"Academic achievement is a must in our student selection, however, we also focus heavily on understanding an applicant's ability to work with others, cope with change, communicate, develop, and motivate themselves."
How can candidates get this soft skill?
"Leadership (as opposed to team work) is a skill not all students can gain exposure to. However, for those who can demonstrate it, it is a real advantage," adds Richard.
"It can be seen in steering a sports team to success or providing the vision and drive for a project in a part-time job or voluntary role. People don't need to be in a senior position to behave like a leader; leadership means setting a vision and direction and then successfully helping steer others towards it."
How can candidates demonstrate this soft skill to employers?
"Like many organisations, we ask students to give us examples of occasions when they have used their soft skills. They should think about their achievements in terms of the skills they demonstrate as well as their contribution to the outcome.
"We also try to observe them working in group exercises where strong leadership skills can shine through. Of course, this doesn't mean dominating the group, but rather helping it to succeed.
"On joining the firm, we offer many opportunities for our people to develop leadership skills at all levels. We recognise that individuals will make a difference to our business wherever they lead."
Creativity
"Creativity means going beyond the status quo and thinking outside of the box. Creativity is closely linked with innovation and is central to what we do at AstraZeneca," explains Jez Chance, marketing communications manager at AstraZeneca
How can candidates get this soft skill?
"Firstly, remove any mental or physical barriers that might inhibit you from challenging the status quo," advises Jez. "Not being afraid to think about how things might be done differently and of new ways of working is the key to being creative.
"Another way to kick start your creativity is to collaborate with others. Often, the process of sharing ideas helps you and your colleagues to think about things differently.
"Pooling together the knowledge and skills of other people can help unlock creativity, which otherwise might remain dormant."
How can candidates demonstrate this soft skill to employers?
"Give examples of projects where you have worked differently to improve something. Bear in mind that this skill is about more than having physical creativity - it’s about thinking of how things can be done differently.
"You can demonstrate this by giving examples of times when you came up with new initiatives, which challenged existing practices."
