Do Soft Skills Matter for ATS Screening?
Soft skills — communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving — appear in almost every job description. But how much weight do they carry in ATS screening? Understanding where soft skills fit in the ATS picture helps you prioritise your CV space effectively.
How ATS Handles Soft Skills
ATS systems primarily score on keyword presence, and soft skills are keywords like any others. If "stakeholder management" appears in the job description and in your CV, that contributes to your match score.
However, there are important differences between soft skills and hard skills in ATS:
Soft skills are lower-weighted: Most ATS configurations give more weight to specific technical skills, qualifications, and job titles than to soft skills. "Python" typically matters more to an ATS score than "analytical thinking."
Soft skills are less distinctive: Because most candidates claim the same soft skills (everyone says they have "excellent communication skills"), they differentiate candidates less in both ATS scoring and human review.
Soft skills in the job description vary widely: Some roles genuinely weight soft skills heavily — leadership roles, client-facing roles, roles requiring specific interpersonal competencies. Others list soft skills almost as boilerplate.
When Soft Skills Matter Most for ATS
Soft skills are more ATS-significant in:
- Management and leadership roles (where competencies like "performance management," "team development," and "change leadership" are genuine requirements)
- Client-facing professional roles (where "relationship management," "stakeholder engagement," and "client communication" are primary functions)
- Roles that explicitly assess against a competency framework (public sector, large corporate graduate schemes)
In these cases, including the specific soft skill language from the job description can meaningfully improve your score.
How to Include Soft Skills in Your CV
Do not just list soft skills in your skills section without context — it reads as padding to both ATS and humans. The most effective approach:
- Include the most important soft skill keywords (as described by the employer) in your personal statement and experience bullets
- Use the employer's exact language where it accurately describes your experience
- Where a soft skill is listed as a competency requirement, provide concrete evidence in an experience bullet ("Led a team of 12 through a department restructure, maintaining 95% retention" is better than "strong change management skills")
Check your soft skill keyword match free at CVCircuit as part of your ATS check.