Learn the Top Soft Skill of Successful Job Seekers

If you have this soft skill, you have a certain charm or magnetism that can arouse enthusiasm and passion in others. People in your presence are automatically captivated by your energy. Because of this, you have the ability to be a great leader and a very successful professional.

The soft skill I’m describing is charisma. According to an article by Forbes, research shows that charismatic people are more likely to be CEOs and almost always have higher-paying salaries when compared to non-charismatic people.

Fortunately for the non-charismatic population, charisma is a soft skill that can be learned with some practice. If you’re looking for an opportunity to improve your soft skills and chances of professional success, start cultivating your inner charisma by using these tips:

• Be happy, positive, and lively in the way you carry yourself. Although you are inevitably going to have your bad days, choose to be positive and upbeat on a consistent basis. Having this kind of attitude creates a certain kind of energy that people are drawn to. Happiness and positivity are contagious and can put others in a good mood.
• Go beyond surface-deep conversation. Charismatic people take chances in their conversations by stepping outside of the typical and polite small talk. They reveal more of themselves than others might. They bring up risky conversation topics. And they aren’t afraid of showing their true selves. Not only does this tendency project an attractive self-confident quality, but it also gives the others in the conversation reassurance that it is okay to just be yourself.
• Take a genuine interest in others. Ask people questions, practice your good listening skills, and show them that you are genuinely interested in their lives. Everyone likes to be valued and admired in this way. It’s not fun to talk to people who are more interested in their phone or can’t keep up with your stories because they’re only half-listening.
• Be witty. This doesn’t mean, however, that you need to be a comedian. You can become wittier by learning to laugh at yourself or teasing with people you feel comfortable with. Don’t try too hard! You don’t have to have a mental folder of fantastic jokes. Just carrying the sort of playfulness that witty people have is enough.
• Be confident in yourself. Charismatic individuals have a self-confidence that comes off as very attractive rather than egotistical. Everything from their posture to their comfort in speaking to crowds shows that they carry themselves in a self-assured fashion. They are also comfortable in being assertive when they need to stand up for themselves or others.

Now that you know the secrets of being a charismatic person, how can you communicate this soft skill to employers? Video resumes offer job seekers a great way to show off their charisma to an employer before even coming in for an interview. Pairing a video resume with your text resume gives an employer access to both your soft and hard skills, a move that will surely differentiate you from others in the applicant pool.

Get ahead of the crowd by signing up for a free Jobma account and creating a video resume today!

Note: I thank Forbes for providing the inspiration for this blog post.