When recruiting for any role, naturally, it is important to ensure that the candidates being considered have the technical skills, expertise, and experience required to do the job. But what about the other skills that will help that individual be successful? How can you identify who will be a good team member or a good manager? So-called “soft skills” are much tougher to identify on a résumé.
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Here are some of the many soft skills that may be important for a person to be successful in a given role:
- Communication skills. The ability to communicate clearly is often critical to success. The first example a recruiter will generally have of this skill is the candidate’s résumé and cover letter (when applicable). Does the candidate communicate in a clear and appropriate manner?
- Patience, flexibility, and the ability to deal with ambiguity. These skills are interrelated. Some jobs will have a high degree of ambiguity that requires the candidate need to adapt, but not all employees are comfortable with uncharted waters and may become impatient with the employer or the project. If this sounds like the workplace you’re recruiting for, be sure to look for candidates who appear they can handle a high level of ambiguity and change, as they will need to be flexible and able to adapt.
- Ability and willingness to be proactive when needed. Some people prefer to be told what to do. Others prefer to take action when needed without asking first. If the role you’re hiring for requires the latter, look for indications that the candidate will be proactive. This may also be viewed as a form of self-motivation.
- Willingness to take responsibility for problems. Problems and mistakes are nearly inevitable. But how will an employee respond when faced with a problem that he or she has either caused or contributed to? Will this person be more likely to blame others or hide the issue? Or will this person take responsibility and take steps to fix the problem?
- Ability to work well on a team. Team-work is perhaps one of the most common soft skills that employers look for directly. Many (if not most) jobs today require at least some form of teamwork, and the last thing an employer wants is to hire someone who is unwilling or unable to be a good team member and help the organization accomplish its goals.
- Ability to keep a good attitude, even in the face of challenges. It may seem obvious that most of us don’t want to deal with someone who is excessively negative, yet it’s not always something that is screened for during the hiring process. The ability to keep a good attitude can significantly impact morale in the workplace, which, in turn, affects productivity.
Of course, not every role will require all of these skills, and this list won’t be comprehensive for some roles. But the key is to ensure that the recruiting team is evaluating the necessary soft skills and is taking steps to hire individuals who possess many of as many of them as possible.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Recruiting Daily Advisor article, where we’ll take a look at some ways to recruit for soft skills.