Evaluating Candidates? Don’t Overlook the Soft Skills

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Education.  Experience.  Skills.  These three categories top every hiring manager’s list, and most interviews spend a significant amount of time drawing the candidate out on the topic of his or her training, credentials, and on-the-job practice of the technical skills and abilities required for a certain position.  For a full picture of a candidate’s potential value to your organization, however, do not overlook “soft skills.”

What Are “Soft Skills”?

Also known as “interpersonal skills,” “people skills,” or “behavior competencies,” soft skills are the collection of skills and abilities that govern how a candidate performs particular tasks – including those that involve the demonstration of “hard skills” or technical competencies related to the job itself.

Key soft skills vital to most professional positions include:

  • Communication, both verbal and written
  • Time management
  • Organization
  • Conflict resolution
  • Initiative
  • Awareness of individual and company culture, habits, and goals

Soft skills are frequently overlooked in interviews because they can be difficult to evaluate.  However, in the long term, soft skills may say more about a candidate’s success than technical competency.

How to Evaluate for Soft Skills

Two of the best hiring phases in which to evaluate soft skills are the reference check and the interview.

During a reference check, ask the candidate’s reference about key soft skills.  How would the reference describe the candidate’s communication skills?  Has the candidate ever been responsible for managing other individuals, and how well did the candidate perform?  Does the candidate regularly take initiative?  Questions like these can shed light on a candidate’s soft skills as viewed through the eyes of a supervisor or other individual who knows the candidate well.

During the interview, ask questions that focus on a candidate’s execution of soft skills, like:

  • Describe a time you identified a problem at work.  What did you do when you realized there was a problem?
  • When have you made a decision that ran counter to a personal bias or belief?  What happened?
  • Tell me about a time you faced a problem that was new to you.  How did you go about solving it?
  • What do you know about our company?  Why do you want to work here? 

For help developing interview questions that address soft skills or for finding candidates with the soft skills you need, talk to your staffing partner.

At ABA Search & Staffing, our experienced recruiters connect companies with top candidates who bring a well-rounded set of hard and soft skills to the table.  Contact us today to learn more.

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