Purpose: In today's ever-evolving digital job market, soft skills are increasingly important for university students to succeed in their future careers. This study identifies the soft skills that universities should prioritize the most due to their significance in the digital employment market. Design/methodology/approach: Using natural language processing (NLP) techniques, this study analyzed 226 student writings that described their experiences of failure in academic, personal and professional settings. Zero-shot classification was utilized to identify the presence of soft skills and sentiment analysis was used to determine the expressed sentiment toward these skills. Findings: The findings suggest that students are most deficient in social intelligence, stress management and self-intelligence skills, which are essential soft skills for success in academic and professional environments and for the transition to the digital employment market. Research limitations/implications: The article acknowledges limitations related to the writing proficiency of resumes from a few non-English speaking students and the potential influence of students' emotional states on the content of their writings. Practical implications: The study provides valuable insights into the soft skills that are mostly lacking among university students and their significance in the digital employment market. Originality/value: The study highlights the importance of universities in promoting and practicing essential soft skills and sheds light on the issue of soft skill deficiency among university students. Educators can use these insights to develop strategic proposals aimed at promoting the acquisition of key soft skills among students. The study provides valuable insights into the soft skills that are mostly lacking among university students and their significance in the digital employment market.