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A CAREER PERSPECTiVE
Job-related expertise, otherwise known as hard skills or technical skills are essential in any profession and are what might help you get your foot in the door when looking for a job. But it's the soft skills that will have those doors swinging wide open with opportunity.
Soft skills, often referred to as transferable skills or professional skills, are intangible, non-technical and are the personal character traits or qualities you need to succeed in any profession.
Soft skills researchers in Canada and the United States have found that employers are increasingly interested in candidates' soft skills. Many employers have identified soft skills as being equally important, if not more important, than technical skills.
"It's beyond technical competence; it makes the difference between someone who can just do the job and someone you want there doing the job" says Jennifer O'Leary, Faculty, Genetics Technology at The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. O'Leary has been teaching for the past 13 years. Currently, she teaches students from all MLT disciplines in their interprofessional collaboration curriculum.
"When I talk to my students about soft skills, I often say to them, 'You're all going to graduate with the same education but what's going to make the difference in the laboratory setting is how...