WANTED: empathetic leader, capable of working in a team, problem solver, flexible, enthusiast, highly respected, excellent communication skills.

What about the role? And the technical skills needed? Theyâ€™re (almost) irrelevant, because the real drivers behind hiring decisions are soft skills.

These skills cannot be certified or guaranteed, but theyâ€™re increasingly crucial if you want to be a success in the current work market.

While they are partly linked to the innate personality and attitude of the person in question, soft skills can also be learned during educational and professional experiences.

So where is the best place to hone your soft skills and develop the ones the recruiters are looking for above all? No doubt about it: a Master in Business Administration course.

In 2016, GMAC carried out a study on leading business schools in which three out of four students confirmed that undertaking an MBA had enabled them to develop and consolidate their soft skills set.

Why?

Well, the very nature of an MBA means that the course puts your soft skills to the test from the very beginning, especially those linked to organisational skills, flexibility and adaptation.

However, the most significant, decisive factor why MBAs help to develop their studentsâ€™ soft skills is classroom work. Workshops, team tasks, the creation and maintenance of groups, keeping a constant flow of communication between class-mates and interacting with a range of people (from peers to influencers, motivational speakers, special guests from the world of business and corporate recruiters) help to hone the soft skills of every student.

This is especially true for students who take an active role in lessons and collaborate with class-mates and teachers. Adopting this approach allows students to benefit from speaking to others, sharing experiences and developing their critical and lateral thinking.

Students on one-year, two-year and Executive MBA courses returned the highest positive response rate to the question of whether â€œattending a business school has had a positive impact on the development of your soft skillsâ€.

There is little doubt that studying for an MBA has become a great opportunity to develop soft skills.

But is it worth it?

You bet! The same study confirms the importance of soft skills in the selection products. A huge 75% of recruiters stated that the third most important characteristic for any new hire is their ability to work in a team and contribute to the strength of the whole.

Best get started, then!