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As you're getting a master's degree or a PhD in a particular communications field, you're building “hard” skills through your graduate program: how to write, how to use technology, how to persuade or educate. Employers want to know about your hard skills, but they're also looking for job candidates who possess “soft” skills that make them better employees.

Here's an overview of soft skills you'll develop in your graduate program, and a little advice on how to let potential employers know your competencies on a resume or during an interview.

Critical thinking skills. You see the big picture and can analyze situations and people to reach fair and equitable solutions to problems. You learned this in grad school by writing papers, doing research, and participating in class and small group work. Tell employers you have strong critical thinking skills by including an overview of your major projects and collaborative work.

Visionary skills. You're good at brainstorming, setting goals, and looking into the future. You learned this in grad school by planning your path, participating in internship opportunities, and accomplishing your goals. During an interview, show employers you have strong visionary skills by talking about what you'll do for the company and where you see the company going in the future.

Teamwork skills. Yes, you can work comfortably on a team—taking directions or giving directions. You learned this in grad school by doing collaborative work. Show employers you have strong teamwork skills by listing your collaborative projects and their outcomes.

Self-motivation skills. If you're working on a master's degree or a PhD degree, you obviously have self-motivation. During an interview, describe how you keep yourself motivated to complete long-term projects and how you think creatively about new projects.

Communication skills. You're getting a graduate degree in communications, but that's not what employers mean when they ask about your communications skills. They want to know if you can get your point across while speaking and writing, whether you can run an employee meeting, how you talk to bosses and subordinates, and your skills at interacting with customers or clients. A communications degree teaches you the mechanics of communications—your effective skills are much greater.

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