Soft Skills

Why soft skills = an awesome employee

Soft skills can help with the make-or-break decision between two awesome candidates.

Make sure you know which soft skills are important for your role and choose questions to match. 

Soft skills interview questions

Adaptability

• What are the biggest challenges in a new role?
• How would you deal with a huge change in a project? How would you adjust your work and ensure your team stays motivated?

Collaboration

• How do you deal with colleagues who you just don’t connect with?
• What would you do if your team was never on board with your ideas?

Communication

• How do you engage a bored audience when you present?
• How do you deal with angry customers?

Decision-making

• Everyone makes unpopular decisions now and again. How do you approach these and handle the feedback?
• What’s the best way to awesome team decision-making? 

Leadership

• Have you ever fired someone? Why and how?
• How do you motivate your team? Give an example.

Time management

• How do you produce quality work with multiple projects and tight deadlines?
• Describe a time you missed a deadline. What went wrong and what would you change next time?

How to ace soft skills questions

• Look to the past: Ask questions about your candidates previous experience to understand if and how candidates use soft skills on the job.
• Use hypothetical scenarios: Ask situational questions or give assignments that simulate job duties.
• Score candidates: Interview scorecards help keep tabs on candidate answers.
• Stick to the plan: Ask the same questions to each candidate to avoid bias. It’s also easier to compare answers and make objective hiring decisions.

Candidates to avoid

• Quick, generic answers: If a candidate can’t describe specific situations, they’re probably not genuine. Ask follow-up questions to get clarifications.
• Contradictory answers: Avoid candidates who say they’re organized and also describe situations where they’ve been rushed for time. Instead, look for candidates who show steady behavior. 
• They’re not a culture fit: Not all soft skills are created equal. Look for candidates who use soft skills that match your company culture and business needs.