WHY SOFT SKILLS ARE SO IMPORTANT

Sharp Consultancy’s Salary Survey 2026/27: Finding the Best Talent in a Competitive Yorkshire Finance Market

Over the past 12 months, the Yorkshire finance and accountancy employment market has entered a relatively stable period following several years of volatility and rapid salary inflation.Hiring activity remains consistent across most finance disciplines, however employers are adopting a more cautious and measured approach to permanent recruitment, likely borne from the economic uncertainty businesses are navigating. As a result, there has been a wider increase across interim hires and salary movement has become more controlled with recruitment processes taking longer than in previous years. Despite this stabilisation, skills shortages continue to be a defining feature of the market. This is particularly evident between the qualified and senior level, where replacement hiring in key roles continues to exceed the available candidate pool and the data reflected in this salary survey aligns closely with what we are seeing daily across the Yorkshire finance market. While hiring volumes have levelled out, the underlying challenge remains unchanged: demand for high-quality finance professionals continues to outweigh supply. What the data does not always fully capture, but we have seen consistently across the market, is the increasing complexity behind each hire. Employers are no longer simply recruiting for technical capability; they are seeking finance professionals who can influence, adapt and add value, often in uncertain trading conditions. This has resulted in longer recruitment timelines, narrower shortlists and a growing reliance on trusted market insight to secure the right individuals. Across the candidate market we are seeing a more selective approach to new opportunities. Job seekers are making increasingly considered career decisions, weighing role scope, leadership quality, flexibility and long-term opportunity alongside salary. Many of the strongest candidates are not actively applying for roles, which means traditional, employer led recruitment strategies are no longer sufficient. Employers are no longer simply recruiting for technical capability; they are seeking finance professionals who can influence, adapt and add value, often in uncertain trading conditions.This is where a relationship-driven recruitment partner becomes vital. At Sharp Consultancy, and through our work with our executive division - The CFO Partnership - our long-standing relationships across the South Yorkshire finance community allow us to engage with high-performing talent that is not always visible to the wider market. Our understanding of both client environments and individual career motivations enables us to make introductions that are aligned not just on skills, but on culture, ambition and long-term fit. In a market where salary growth is increasingly controlled and competition for talent remains intense, our ability to advise, challenge and guide both clients and candidates is vital. Recruitment partnerships built on trust, transparency and deep market knowledge are what ultimately ensure the best outcomes - securing the right talent for our clients, and the right opportunities for the candidates we represent.

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When preparing for an interview for a new position or aiming to gain a promotion, it can be easy to focus upon your job specific knowledge and experience and over look the soft skills which are just as important to ensuring that you land the role.

With more and more employers utilising competency based interviews as part of the recruitment process, failing to understand the importance of soft skills could see you trip yourself up as these will often assist employers differentiate between candidates of a similar calibre.

Whilst hard skills – your qualifications, training courses, experience and expertise – are undoubtedly important, soft skills demonstrate more to an interviewer about your people or interpersonal skills and generally cover areas such as communication, teamwork and problem solving.

The majority of candidates applying for a role will no doubt tick many, if not all, of the boxes – the hard skills - necessary to perform the role and any which do require improvement, such as mastering a particular IT programme, will often be in areas that can be addressed through training. Softer skills however tend to be the skills that a person ‘naturally’ possesses, and as such are not so easy to teach therefore can be harder to find an individual that displays the right qualities that will make them an ideal cultural fit for a particular organisation.

During an interview, employers will look to assess your soft skills through a series of questions aimed at getting you to talk about real life situations where you will be required to describe how you approached a particular scenario, your behaviour and what the eventual outcome was and what you took away from the experience.

Before attending an interview, it is worth preparing a handful of relevant examples that will enable you to demonstrate these skills.

Our top five soft skills for success:

1.Communication

Demonstrate that you are a good communicator by illustrating your examples with the type of language that you used, your tone, delivery and also your ability to listen and take on board the views of others.

2.Problem Solving

Show that you can think around a problem and come up with creative solutions and put in place measures to address any obstacles which you may come up against. It is also beneficial to highlight examples of where you have been proactive in anticipating a problem and where you have been able to overcome unexpected issues to produce a successful outcome.

3.Negotiating Skills

Can you deliver a compelling case for approaching a project in a certain way? Can you build effective relationships with other team members and departments to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal? Can you take on board other points of view and work collaboratively to help shape the eventual outcome?

4.Passion

Are you genuinely enthusiastic about the role and opportunity to join the company? Don’t be afraid to show that you are keen to become part of the team and that you have the drive and desire to make the role a success.

5.Confidence

It’s important that you demonstrate that you are confident in your ability – but don’t let that come across as being arrogant. Show that you believe you are the right person for the role with examples of how you have made successful contributions, by sharing your goals and ambitions for the future and how you think you can make a real difference to the organisation.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to speak to a member of our team about your next career move.