In the business world, many employers hold job interviews and look to see how qualified a person is for a particular position. Although you may prepare yourself by practicing interview skills and memorizing your resume, employers look for other attributes from prospective employees, like how qualified you are, how well you would fit in, or what technical skills you can bring to their companies. Although many items could be considered the norm, there are a couple of other informal skills that employers take into account — hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are teachable abilities or skill sets that are easy to quantify. You learn your hard skills in the classroom through books, training materials or even on your present and past jobs.

Some examples of hard skills include possession of a degree or certificate, machine operation, typing speed and computer programming. Your hard skills are usually listed on your cover letter or resume where an employer can easily recognize them.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are subjective skills that are harder to quantify and qualify. These skills are also known as “people skills” or what many of us know as “interpersonal skills.” Soft skills refer to how you interact and relate to others.

Examples of soft skills are how you communicate with others, potential leadership skills, patience, motivation, teamwork and perception of your work ethic.

It is much easier for an employer to train you in a hard skill, like how to use a computer, but it is much more difficult to train a person in a soft skill like patience or teamwork.

So, you’re probably thinking enough with the business lesson. What does all this have to do with diversity?

Believe it or not, soft skills derive from accepting and understanding cultural differences. Tolerance and understanding of cultural differences are the new soft skills, whether you practice them where you work or in your everyday life.

Let’s examine where we live. Federal Way is much more multicultural now than it was a decade ago. Our city, like many others across the United States, is a melting pot with the potential for cultural clashes. Clashes sometime happen purely because of cultural differences. Cultural clashes don’t occur because of prejudice, but because of the unwillingness or inability to appreciate different cultures that improve our lives every day in our great city.

Christine Funk, a marketing and social media manager in the United Kingdom, states in an article she wrote for bookboon.com that “accepting cultural differences is the one catalyst to social and workplace cohesion, and that the key to understanding and acceptance of cultural differences is flexibility. Flexibility means a willingness to see that others have a different outlook from our own and accepting the differing attitudes. This all leads to finding the common ground for the greater good.”

Hmmm, finding the common ground. How do you find this common ground that Christine is speaking of? Do you carefully listen to other’s point of view before making a judgment or decision? Do you respect other’s religious beliefs? Can you objectively accept a person because of his/her color or nationality?

In a recent issue of the Mirror, a gentlemen wrote a letter to the editor and described how he and his wife were spending an afternoon at Steel Lake Park. In his description, he explained that he and his wife marveled as to how many different cultures were being represented in the park that day, and that when they first moved to this city they would never had seen so much diversity in the park like that day. He closed his letter urging all of us to celebrate this diversity and not fear it. Hard or soft skills? Has he found his common ground?

I spent a few hours this past weekend at Town Square Park, and can you imagine what I saw that afternoon? People of different colors, nationalities and languages all celebrating the beautiful summer day, enjoying the common grass and play areas and even the children’s water feature area. To me, the most celebrated event that caught my eye was watching the parents of children actually attending the zip line play area and how it didn’t matter whether or not that was their child getting ready to glide down the track. They were there to make sure everyone had a turn and that all of the children who patiently waiting their turn be rewarded with a cheerful guided push. Hard or soft skills? Did they find their common ground that day?

As you travel our great city streets and spend time at our parks, lakes and playgrounds, take the time to look around you. How many of us are practicing our soft skills when it comes to understanding others and having the flexibility in realizing what is different from your life’s practices, religion, background and culture. There is value in everything and everyone around us. Celebrate these values. One last question: What skills are you using to recognize them?

Gregory Baruso has lived in Federal Way for 15 years and has been a member of the city of Federal Way’s Diversity Commission for eight years and is currently serving as chair.