Soft Skills Will Help You Find Your Next Job

GUEST POST: Tetiana Yanhol is the Partnership Manager at Jooble.

Jooble is a job search aggregator that helps people around the world find employment opportunities. Jooble also has a blog and a CV builder to help job seekers. We do not accept payment for guest-written articles.

When you apply for a project or sit in an interview, it’s not enough to say “I know these tools and can do this work.”

Hard skills are the base, and thanks to them, you will actually complete the work, but in today’s market, simply being able to do the work well is not enough to get it.

Working on a project isn’t just about getting things done. It’s a long-term, day-to-day collaboration, and a bad hire can be costly. Clients want to know you’ll not only deliver the edit, but also understand feedback, keep deadlines, and handle problems without drama. Producers and teams look for free-lancers who can make the work smoother, not harder. That’s why soft skills often end up being the deciding factor.

Tell the Story

When talking about your previous experience, explain the context and show that you understand the bigger picture. Walk the potential client or producer through why you chose one approach over another, and what impact it had on the final result. It’s about seeing and showing your work as part of a project, not just a to-do item.

Show Initiative

Don’t wait until a client tells you what to do next. If you notice something that could be improved in a project, suggest your solution. Small ideas that make the team’s work easier or improve the result get noticed.

In an interview or when talking to a potential client, you can share these examples: how you suggested an optimization, spotted a mistake, or added a feature that improved the final product.

Teamwork

Almost every project you work on is a team effort. Even if you’re hired as a free-lancer, you’re still part of a bigger process that involves producers, other editors, and sometimes whole creative teams. Your ability to sync with them is just as important as your editing skills.

Working with other people also means dealing with different personalities, perspectives, and opinions. Instructions won’t always be clear, so make sure you really understand what’s expected. If someone says “make it good”, take it as a signal to double-check that you and the producer mean the same thing by “good”.

Before meeting a potential client, prepare a few examples showing how you’ve worked with others, handled feedback, or navigated small conflicts.

Network

Creative people often think their portfolio will speak for itself. Sometimes it works, but what almost always works is word of mouth. You’ve probably heard that most job openings never even make it to public listings – in the media world, the situation is the same.

Building relationships with other professionals in the industry gets you and your work noticed. These connections can lead to collaborations, referrals, or opportunities you wouldn’t find otherwise.

Be Proactive

Don’t wait for work to come to you. Look for opportunities everywhere: in communities, chats, and on social media. Job boards can also be used for a job search. On Jooble, for example, you can discover part-time editing roles, entry-level video editing jobs, and freelance projects. You might also discover niche projects and openings, such as real estate video editing opportunities, virtual tour videography, or e-learning content editing roles.

Being proactive also means not being afraid to show yourself online. You can post small things about your workflow, how you approach projects, or share quick tips. People go to people, so showing a bit of how you think about your work helps you get noticed.

It also means keeping in touch with people you’ve worked with before. A simple update or a quick question can turn into a new project or a referral. This works when you’re looking for a job, too. After a meeting or interview, send a short thank-you note. A small gesture that shows you’re interested can often make the difference in who gets chosen.

Be Resilient

Things don’t always go as planned. Last-minute changes, shifting deadlines, or tension in the team can happen. We all know the basic stress reactions – fight or flight. Building resilience lets you respond differently, with a clear head.

Think of emotional resilience like a muscle you can train. Notice your reactions under stress, practice pausing before responding, reflect on what’s in your control, and what isn’t.

In a meeting, you can highlight resilience by sharing an example of a project that hit unexpected problems and how you stayed steady, kept communication clear, and delivered anyway.

Work Ethic

Reliability is what clients look for in free-lancers. It helps you build long-term working relationships and keeps them coming back with more work. Most importantly, it builds your reputation – word of mouth still speaks louder than anything you can say.

Meeting deadlines, staying in touch, and being upfront when something goes wrong show professionalism. Another important point: clients trust you with sensitive material, so take care to keep all information secure.

When putting together your portfolio, make sure to respect copyright and don’t share anything you’re not allowed to. In an interview, be mindful of what you reveal about past projects – highlight your role and approach without giving away sensitive details.

Written Agreements

Before starting a project, go over all the details with your client to ensure the collaboration is effective and fair for both sides. Have everything clearly in writing – at least a clear email outlining tasks, deadlines, payment, and revisions.

Key points to include:

• Scope of work: Exactly what you’ll deliver and what the client expects.
• Deadlines and milestones: When each part of the project should be completed.
• Number of revisions: How many rounds of edits are included and what counts as extra.
• Payment terms: How and when you’ll get paid.
• Intellectual property rights: Who owns the work after it’s completed.
• Specify how you’ll communicate: will you respond to urgent messages on weekends? Which hours are your working hours, and when should the client expect updates? Agree on how files will be delivered, in what format, and through which channels.

Talk openly about payment. Will it be a fixed price, an hourly rate, or milestone-based? Agree on invoices, payment methods, and deadlines.

Remember that you’re responsible for self-employment taxes, so it’s common to include them in your rates.

Summary

We’ve covered a lot today, but to sum up: hard skills get the work done, soft skills get you the job. Together, they help you grow and get hired.