The #1 skill lacking in the U.S. workforce is Interpersonal Skills, also known as People Skills, Soft Skills or Emotional Intelligence Skills; all are related to the way we communicate and interact with others. Strong Interpersonal Skills are essential for succeeding in today's workplace. The only problem is they are difficult to find in employees. In a recent survey conducted by LinkedIn of 291 hiring managers in the U.S., it was revealed that 59% of managers believe that soft skills are the most difficult to find.

Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, stated that the biggest imbalance in skills for people trying to get hired is the “Serious Lack of Interpersonal Skills.” It was lacking three times more than any other skill that hiring managers were looking for. Harvard University, in conjunction the Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research, found that 85% of job success comes from having well-developed soft skills. 15% of job success comes from technical skills and knowledge … referred to as Hard Skills.

This implies that for people looking for a job and for those of you looking to get promoted, your soft skills will give you an edge in grabbing the right job opportunity or helping you to rise-up through the ranks at your company. The requirement for soft skills has become critical in the business arena because of two primary reasons:

1. CUSTOMER IS THE KING: For a customer, the employee is the face of the organization. If the customer does not find you helpful enough to serve their needs, they will go elsewhere.

2. RELATIONSHIP BUILDING: A person with excellent soft skills is able to create trust, confidence and rapport with their peers and customers; which is necessary in getting people to want to work with you or buy from you.

So, here is a list of the most important soft-skills that will help you stand apart from the crowd and be unique. These skills are sought after by hiring managers irrespective of the nature of the industry in which you work.

I like to look upon Soft Skills as Emotional Intelligence Skills. It makes them sound more important … which they are. The great news about them is they can be learned. Spend some time everyday doing some kind of studying on any of these subjects. I personally like watching short YouTube videos on different subjects. Remember: 85% of job success comes from having well-developed soft skills … so you need to refine your skills.

You also might want to give some thought to how your peers would describe you. Do you show adaptability, competitiveness, emotional control, empathy, enthusiasm, flexibility, friendliness, humor, patience, perceptiveness, persistence, positivity, resilience, self-confidence, and strong work ethic? These are also highly regarded by Human Resource professionals. So, start adding these traits to your repertoire.

Soft Skills are hard to come by and anything difficult to come by is in high demand and worth more.