Having a college degree and work experience may prove necessary to getting a foot into the employment door. However, during the hiring phase, employers will make final hiring decisions based on a person’s intangible skills. Additionally, these intangible skills will encourage continued growth as a person as well as when interacting with others.

Here are five tips for developing the key soft skills necessary to help sharpen those intangible skills to improve both your personal and your professional life.

1) Time Management

While every obstacle cannot be predicted, building a time management structure will allow you to take responsibility and prioritize tasks effectively. The structure you use for school life cannot necessarily be applied to the structure that is required for work life. Work life requires problems to be solved with a different set of resources. Regardless of the situation, it is always important to remind yourself to stay on-task and meet your deadlines.

2) Collaboration

Demonstrating a willingness to learn through various interactive experiences, including participating in projects both inside and outside of work and class is a key soft skill. This skill can be developed through teamwork, networking, working with professors and engaging in extracurricular activities. Knowing how to be a productive member of a team rather than a liability can be built by always following through with your assigned portion of a task and not being prone to making excuses.

3) Leadership

Employers seek out leaders, not followers. Leadership draws on a combination of many soft skills and can also show off your hard skills at the same time. A leader takes charge of a situation when needed and understands how to properly delegate tasks based on others’ skill sets. They also know how to say no, how to deliver both good and bad news, give productive criticism and negotiate with others. A great way to develop this soft skill is to find and learn from a mentor who you respect as a leader.

4) Communication Skills

Interpersonal skills often make the difference between whether or not you are picked for a job. Effective communication involves being able to carry on a conversation, show interest in another person to build trust, and being able to listen actively and maintain eye contact. Listening more than you talk and asking follow-up questions are great ways to build communication skills. Being able to communicate verbally and through writing are necessary to own a job interview or even to speak effectively to a college professor.

5) Self-Awareness

Emotional intelligence means pausing to recognize what you are really feeling and how to appropriately respond to it. Identifying your weaknesses is an important step in developing this skill, as is expressing your feelings in a professional setting or in a personal setting. Self-awareness brings about approachability and flexibility, as well as personal growth and self-confidence. Emotional awareness can help you to better understand others and be open to exploring new experiences.