When joining a new team, is it better to have the right soft skills and have to learn the hard skills of the job? Or vice versa?

Even fresh graduates come with some set of soft skills. A good communicator who worked in small groups on projects or even played on a team comes with valuable soft skills. Hard skills can be learned on the job and over time.

Great question. However, it gives little room for new graduates. You either come in as a seasoned CSM or a fresh graduate/newbie CSA (Associate). Some are born with soft skills or are often on a debate team, drama, business classes, etc. But you typically pick these skills up during school/college. Soft skills like communication, teamwork and working inter-department help navigate any work environment. Relation building is a critical soft skill you must develop quickly when joining any new team. This also helps you hone in a critical skill, leadership.

When you start a new role, Hard skills are not an expectation for CSMs. Domain knowledge would be nice to have. For example, SaaS Security products may require Security knowledge. If you are an excellent communicator, you can set expectations that you will follow up on a question. Customers are very understanding and don’t expect you to know all the answers. The other skills that I would classify as hard skills are Interpersonal skills and the ability to work within a team. Problem-solving skills, if you have a technical support background, this would be second nature. Else, this may be an essential skill to learn. Shadow the support team and add this to your training plan. Time management, I have twin boys ready to go to college. Each of them is working on their college apps. One proactively submitted them by the 2nd week of December. The other wanted to test if 11:59:59 breaks the bank. No matter your style, I am not asking you to change it, but the rule of thumb, MEET or EXCEED expectations, ALWAYS. This is how you develop a relationship with your customers and earn their respect. Finally - being well-organized is another critical skill you need to get on board quickly. Else this is not a role for you.

Nutshell, Customer Success is an excellent role for any college graduate with a suitable talent set. This sets a path to a great career in Product Marketing/Product Management/Inside Sales/Sales.

Generally, when hiring CS team members, for me, it's all about soft skills;

• Deep customer empathy
• Great communication skills
• Strategic thinking
• Time and project management
• Active listening
• Problem-solving

The hard skills are more related to domain knowledge, which can primarily be trained on the job. However, there is a significant dependency on your company's stage and goals. For example, if the company is an early-stage B2B tech software company, you may want a profile that has been there and done that for the first hire. If not in the specific domain, you will need someone who has worked with a similar customer type at a similar scale for the new hire to be productive as fast as possible. Arguably the earlier the stage, the less time you will have for the person to be successful in their role.

It's better to have the right soft skills, always!

In fact, I'd go one step further than that and say it's even more important to have the right attitude/mindset first.

Because if someone has the right mindset, and they're hungry to learn and take feedback on board (we call that Growth Mindset) then the soft skills and the hard skills can always be taught.

Looking at this from the perspective of a Customer Success Manager versus say a software developer.

I focus on the core of attitude, aptitude and values alignment.

For attitude;  do they have a positive mindset, are they empathic, do they have good communication skills, can they easily build rapport and relationships, are they flexible and do they have an inherent desire to help people, solve problems and make things better.

For aptitude; do they have a desire and inherent ability to learn new things, are they coachable / teachable? Do they have the potential to excel as a CSM. 

With the right attitude and aptitude the existing core strength of the persons soft skills will develop quickly in the role while the hard skills can be developed over time. 

I prefer an approach of values alignment and culture add: Value alignment is important as they must ensure that their personal values and beliefs align with the values and mission of the organization. When there is strong values alignment between an individual and an organization, it will lead to greater job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement. On the other hand, when there is a mismatch in values, it can lead to tension, conflict, and dissatisfaction.

Culture-add is about hiring individuals who bring something unique and valuable to the existing culture of the organization. Instead of seeking to fit a specific mould or cultural archetype, organisations I believe it is better to hire individuals who can add to and enrich the existing culture of the organization. I believe this will foster diversity, creativity, and innovation within the team..