What are personal skills? Definition and examples

In many roles, your personal skills matter just as much as your technical abilities – sometimes more. They’re the qualities that help you communicate well, work with others, and manage your time and tasks effectively. 

These skills aren’t taught in school. You build them through life experience, feedback, and reflection. You’ve probably heard them called “soft skills” or “people skills.” 

While personal skills might sound vague, they make a real difference in a job. They can give you a clear edge in the workplace, especially when you’re working in a team, supporting customers, or stepping into leadership.

In this article, we’ll break down what personal skills are, share practical examples of personal skills, and guide you on how to grow and show them off in the Australian job market.

What are personal skills, and why do they matter?

Personal skills are the traits and behaviours that shape how you work, communicate, and solve problems. They include things like empathy, time management, adaptability, and confidence. These personal attributes help you navigate daily tasks, work well with others, and deal with challenges in and out of work.

Strong personal skills can help you build better relationships, grow your career, and feel more capable in almost any setting. Employers value them because they’re key to how teams succeed and how businesses grow.

Personal skills vs other types of skills

It’s helpful to understand how personal skills differ from other skills you might include on your resumé or use at work. They often work alongside your technical and job-specific skills, but they’re not the same thing.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Hard skills: These are job-specific abilities like coding, accounting, and using specific software or operating equipment. You usually gain these through training or education.

• Transferable skills: These are flexible skills you can use across different jobs or industries, like project management, problem-solving, or presenting.

• Knowledge-based skills: These involve specific knowledge you’ve learned, such as a second language, product knowledge, or industry regulations.

• Personal skills: These shape how you work with others and handle daily challenges. Think communication, teamwork, time management, problem-solving, and adaptability.

Ultimately, you need a good mix of all these skills. For example, a software engineer might use hard skills to write code, transferable skills like project planning to manage a sprint, and personal skills like teamwork and adaptability to support their team. 

Examples of personal skills that help you succeed at work

Let’s focus on the personal skills that often make the most significant impact at work. They may look a little different depending on your role, industry, or career level.

Essential personal skills for today’s workplace

The way we work has changed. With remote roles, hybrid teams, global clients, and digital tools becoming the norm, workers now need a mix of classic and new soft skills to succeed.

Here are some of the most important ones:

• Communication: Clear communication is key, primarily online. Writing concise emails, giving clear updates, and speaking up in meetings makes collaboration easier.

• Teamwork: Working well with others is still vital even when you’re not in the same room. Excellent teamwork in remote settings means showing initiative, being responsive, and supporting colleagues across time zones.

• Working across cultures: You might be collaborating with someone in another country or managing a client from a different background. Cultural awareness helps you connect respectfully and avoid missteps.

• Time management: With many roles requiring people to juggle projects, emails, and meetings, this skill helps you stay on top of things and meet deadlines.

• Reliability: In teams spread across locations, being known as someone who shows up, follows through, and communicates well builds trust.

• Flexibility and quick thinking: Work environments shift fast. You become an asset when you can stay calm, adjust your approach, and offer new ideas.

• Emotional intelligence: This means recognising your emotions, understanding others, and responding helpfully. It’s key for leadership, teamwork, and self-awareness.

• Thoughtful decision-making: Good decisions take context and consequences into account. It's not about speed but about weighing options and thinking things through.

• Storytelling and influence: Whether pitching an idea or giving feedback, stories are more memorable than data. Being able to persuade others in a relatable way helps your message stick.

• Handling conflict constructively: Disagreements are part of work. What matters is how you manage them. Aim to listen, stay calm, and find a way forward that works for everyone.

Which personal skills matter for your job level?

As you progress in your career, some personal skills become more critical than others. Entry-level workers might focus on showing up with a good attitude and being dependable. As you grow, you must lead, think strategically, and manage people or pressure. 

Here’s a breakdown by career stage:

Entry level

At this stage, most employers look for willingness to learn, reliability, and a good attitude because these traits show that you're ready to grow.

Example: A junior admin assistant who always shows up on time and picks up tasks quickly shows that they're trustworthy and ready to learn, making life easier for the whole team.

Specialist

Employers look for accountability, communication, and initiative when you're responsible for your workload. These help you get things done without constant guidance.

Example: A graphic designer who explains ideas clearly and meets deadlines keeps projects on track and reduces back-and-forth, helping the team deliver on time.

Manager

As a manager, your job is to guide others and keep things running smoothly. You’ll need leadership, empathy, and conflict resolution to support your team and handle challenging situations.

Example: A team lead who checks in with team members regularly and manages tension calmly creates a supportive environment where people feel heard and can do their best work.

Director to Senior Leader

Senior roles demand a big-picture view and the ability to make tough calls. That’s why strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and decision-making under pressure are crucial.

Example: A CEO who can motivate teams, manage crises, and align employees to big-picture goals helps the company stay focused and adapt through change.

Which personal skills matter for your job type?

Another thing to consider when building your personal skills is the type of job you have. Different roles call for different strengths.

Human Resources (HR)

In HR, you’re often the go-to person for people issues, which means empathy, communication, and active listening are must-haves. These skills help you understand concerns, mediate issues, and create a safe and fair workplace.

Example: An HR manager who handles employee concerns carefully builds trust in the organisation and helps teams stay focused and engaged.

Finance

In finance roles, accuracy and trust are essential. You’ll need attention to detail, integrity, and analytical thinking to manage data, make sense of trends, and support decision-making.

Example: An analyst who catches a reporting error before it’s submitted prevents costly mistakes and builds credibility with leadership.

Marketing

Marketing moves fast, and things change often. That’s why creativity, adaptability, and collaboration matter. You must generate new ideas, shift gears quickly, and work well with teams.

Example: A marketer who works with designers and writers to launch a last-minute campaign helps the business stay competitive and connect with the audience on time.

How to identify and develop your personal skills

If you're curious to uncover your personal skills so you know where to grow, here are five practical ways to start:

1. Take a skills test to spot your strengths

Try an assessment like the High5 test. These tools help you identify the traits you already lean on at work. Work-ready tests like this also give tips on using your strengths more effectively, including where you might have blind spots.

2. Take online courses or join workshops

Look for short courses or webinars on communication, leadership, or collaboration. These can offer practical tools and a structured way to improve. Like any skill, personal skills take regular practice, so start small and stick with them like any skill.

3. Ask for feedback from teammates or mentors

You don’t always see yourself clearly, but people you work with might. Ask colleagues or mentors what they think you do well and where you could improve. Choose people you trust to be honest and constructive, and make sure you practice active listening in conversations.

4. Reflect after key work moments

After a big meeting or project, take a few minutes to think about what worked and what didn’t. Keep a journal or note down quick thoughts. Over time, you’ll spot patterns on where you add the most value and areas where you might want to build new skills.

5. Step out of your comfort zone

Put yourself in situations that challenge you. Say yes to presenting at a meeting, lead a team activity, or offer feedback to a colleague. These moments might initially feel awkward, but they’re where real growth happens.

How to highlight personal skills on your resumé

Your resumé is a great place to highlight your personal skills – the traits that show how you work and collaborate. Employers want to see more than technical ability, so be sure to highlight what makes you a strong team member. Here’s how to do it well.

Mention them in your resumé summary

A resumé summary is a short statement outlining your primary experience, roles, and achievements. It’s a great place to highlight one to 3 personal skills most relevant to the job you’re applying for. Here’s an example of how it can look in a resumé:

Insert a list of skills in your resumé

You can include a skills section that features your technical and personal skills. Keep it balanced, and tailor it to what’s in the job description. Say you’re applying for a marketing role. Your skills section may look like this:

Weave personal skills into your work experience

Don’t just say you have personal skills – show them in action. In your work experience section, highlight the situations where you used them to get results. You can add something like:

Take charge of your personal growth

Your personal skills shape how you interact, solve problems, and succeed at work. They matter in every job, at every level.

The good news? You already have some. The better news? You can always build more. With practice, reflection, and a bit of courage to step outside your comfort zone, you can grow the skills that will help you stand out and thrive no matter where you are in your career.

FAQs

What are some examples of personal skills?

Personal skills include qualities like communication, time management, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. These traits help you work well with others, manage your workload, and respond to challenges. They’re often what set people apart in team-based and client-facing roles.

How do I include personal skills on my resumé?

You can show your personal skills in a few key places on your resumé: your resumé summary, your skills list, and your work experience section. Just focus on the ones that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for, and use real examples to show how you’ve used those skills at work.

What’s the difference between personal and interpersonal skills?

Personal skills are your individual qualities; things like reliability, initiative, or time management. Interpersonal skills are a type of personal skill that specifically relate to how you interact with others, like teamwork and communication. You often need both to succeed at work.

How do I show personal skills in a resume?

Start by choosing skills from the personal skills list that match the job description. Use them in a sentence in your summary or in bullet points under your job history. You could also create a dedicated “Skills” section that balances both technical and personal skills.

Which personal skills do employers value most in Australia right now?

Employers are looking for people who can adapt, communicate clearly, work well in diverse teams, and manage their time effectively. Emotional intelligence and reliability are also high on the list. These skills support strong teamwork, leadership, and resilience in changing environments.

Can personal skills make up for a lack of experience or technical skills?

In some roles, yes – especially if the job values attitude and potential over experience. Showing that you’re reliable, adaptable, and a good communicator can help you stand out, even if you’re still learning the technical side. These skills also show that you’re ready to grow and learn on the job.