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Soft Skills

Use these questions to check in on your candidates soft skills. Think: communication, adaptability and collaboration.

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.

Start optimizing your recruiting process today.

Start optimizing your recruiting process today.

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