With the marketplace in a near constant state of flux, business leaders in almost every sector must be prepared to take on myriad tasks. As a result, executives searching for new opportunities often equip themselves with a whole host of skills.
For human resources and recruitment personnel, this presents a rather unique challenge, as some competencies aren't so easy to spot during the interview process or verify via curriculum vitae. Soft skills in particular pose problems, with screeners struggling to gauge supposed candidate strengths like leadership and strategic thinking over the course of multiple in-person interactions.
Fortunately, there are some time-tested solutions to this modern recruitment dilemma. As you speak with potential hires, be sure to implement some of these strategies for assessing soft skills:
Read the conversation
When interviewing candidates, it's usually best to focus on the content they deliver during interviews rather than the manner in which they provide it. However, when evaluating for soft skills, the latter variable can mean a lot, according to U.S. News and World Report. For instance, if you're in the market for a well-spoken, highly communicative leader, you want to look for individuals who can hold a fluid conversation and concisely articulate their thoughts.
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Administer an exam
One of the simplest and most effective ways to assess soft skills is to actually test for them, Inc. reported. Some enterprises ask candidates to respond to an angry email from the CEO or have them participate in simulated workplace interactions. Of course, for soft skills that require some supporting technical knowledge, you can design more measurable exercises.
Ask uncomfortable questions
Sometimes, assessing soft skill levels involves asking uncomfortable questions. Instead of lobbing well-known softballs that come with "right answers," ask some pointed behavioral questions, Harvard Business Review suggested. For example, push candidates to perform self-evaluations and really dig into how they operate as managers. The answers they give will be illuminating, as will their reactions.
Now that you know how to look for soft skills, it's time to seek out the professionals who possess them. YES Partners can help. Our executive search consultants leverage deep industry connections to find talented C-level staff with the executive experience it takes to transform entire organizations.
To see some of the roles we have already placed successfully, click here.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries.
