As technology, including emerging tools like generative AI, continues to advance and replace many tasks once performed by humans, a common theme has emerged among employers when asked what kinds of aptitudes they expect and seek out among their workers: soft skills.
While a spreadsheet tool can crunch numbers more effectively than any human and while word processors mean nobody really needs to be a spelling expert, it’s skills like effective time management, leadership, communication, teamwork and other innately human traits that employers feel set great employees apart from their peers.
The challenge with soft skills has always been how to quantify and identify them, especially in a hiring process that can involve thousands of applicants for a single position.
No Real Substitute for Interviews
The bad news for employers looking to find significant efficiencies in the applicant screening process is that there’s really no substitute for an in-person interview when it comes to identifying soft skills among applicants. Video interviews and even phone calls can accomplish much of the same effect, but those still take essentially the same amount of time for an interviewer as an in-person interview, as opposed to programmatically screening resumes and cover letters.
“Trying to identify soft skills through a review of a resume and cover letter can be difficult, and the results may be inaccurate depending on the writing style the candidate utilized when composing their resume,” says Jason Leverant, COO and President of AtWork Group. “Additionally, with the rise in generative AI and the assistance it can provide to generate both a resume and a cover letter, trying to ascertain someone’s intangible skills from a document would be completely misleading.”
Leverant says that he relies on interviews as the best indication of intangible or soft skills, including Zoom or Teams interviews when employees live in different geographies. “A telephone interview is a great starting point, but getting someone face to face is the very best way to get a complete picture of the candidate that you’re screening or interviewing,” he says.
It’s Possible—But Difficult—to Glean Soft Skills from Resumes and Cover Letters
Few companies can realistically expect to interview every applicant for a position. But if soft skills are critically important and soft skills are best identified in the interview process, how can a company without the ability to interview every candidate hope to effectively screen them all for soft skills?
It’s probably not possible to do so perfectly, but some experts say it’s possible to get some hints.
“Fill-in-the-blank job applications make it near-impossible to pick up a candidate’s soft skills, but you can look for some of the traits in the application response to get a sense of the candidate before scheduling interviews,” says Leverant. “Are they completing all fields fully? Are they using proper grammar and not misspelling words? Is their method of response more formal, more casual, or something else? To get the best bang for your buck, think about ways that the “hot buttons” of the specific job you are recruiting for translate to this action, and sort accordingly, engaging with those that reply in the way that a “top performer” in that same role would conduct themselves.”
Sally Ahmed, HR Director at the TemPositions Group of Companies agrees. “While resumes and cover letters provide valuable information about a candidate’s experience and qualifications, they aren’t as focused on communicating soft skills,” she says. “That’s why we take a more nuanced approach during the initial screening process. We pay close attention to how a candidate describes their achievements, looking for language in a resume that highlights collaboration, problem-solving, or leadership. Similarly, we look for cover letters that convey enthusiasm, clear communication, and culture fit.”
Not All Interviews are Created Equal
Even though interviews may be the best means of identifying soft skills, that doesn’t mean any old interview will do. Interviews need to be carefully constructed to ensure they are designed to effectively evaluate soft skills, says Allison Howell, Vice President of Market Innovation at Hogan Assessments.
“As a starting point, recruiters must be very clear on what criteria they are looking for in a candidate,” Howell says. “It’s easy to say that the ideal candidate must have strong communication skills, or be team oriented, but what does that actually mean? How do those skills get measured? Without clearly defining what ‘soft’ skills are important for the role, screening for them becomes highly subjective and open to biased interpretation. Defining soft skills clearly requires upfront effort from a recruiter or hiring manager. For example, strong communication skills may instead be an ability to convey a complex idea to a lay audience, or an ability to deliver quarterly presentations to the leadership team. The more specific the criteria, the easier it becomes to evaluate.”
Howell explains that if the desired soft skills are clearly defined, the recruiter may be able to screen for presence or absence of certain skills. “For example, if the role requires strong presentation skills, a resume or cover letter might list scenarios in which the candidate made presentations in previous roles,” she explains. “However, recruiters should be cautioned against screening out candidates for these skills on just resume and cover letter alone. Rather, if the candidate passes an initial screening for more easily measured criteria, like educational background or specialized work experience, then recruiters can employ more sophisticated tools to evaluate soft skills.”
As advanced technologies like AI and automation take on increasingly significant responsibilities in the workplace, soft skills are seen as ever more critical by employers. Unfortunately, soft skills are notoriously difficult to evaluate and even define. This means interviews are often crucial tools to determine whether a candidate possesses the requisite soft skills. Because it’s simply impractical for employers to interview all applicants, however, it’s essential for interviewers to find hints in traditional application artifacts like resumes and cover letters. When interviews are conducted, they need to be carefully designed to ensure that they’re an effective use of time when it comes to soft skill identification.
Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.