Creating a job description that includes all the qualifications for a role is the easy part. What is more challenging is trying to find the right people to fill the roles that not only have the experience that you want, but also that they have the soft skills needed for success. Think about the soft skills that will be needed in the role and how do you ensure that they have what you are looking for? Can you tell by looking at their resume? Can you tell by the questions in an interview? Companies are beginning to look more closely at the personality traits through assessments and non-traditional interviewing techniques to gauge whether or not people have the soft skills needed.
Employers Find Soft Skills Like Critical Thinking in Short Supply by Kate Davidson discusses some of the research that has been done on this topic. “A recent LinkedIn survey of 291 hiring managers found 58% say the lack of soft skills among job candidates is limiting their company’s productivity.” Over half of the people hired are struggling to get things done and causing more challenges in the organization. There is so much work to do and not enough people to do it anymore, so lacking or blocking other’s ability to be productive is not what is needed.
“In a Wall Street Journal survey of nearly 900 executives last year, 92% said soft skills were equally important or more important than technical skills. But 89% said they have a very or somewhat difficult time finding people with the requisite attributes. Many say it’s a problem spanning age groups and experience levels.” With more automation coming and the continuation of outsourcing, it is now a requirement that people adapt. The skills that were required in the past have evolved and changed. What is needed now is not the same as it was in the past and being able to adjust is necessary.
So what are these soft skills that most jobs would need? “LinkedIn did some internal analysis on profiles of people who had applied for or changed jobs to identify some of the most sought after soft skills: The ability to communicate trumped all else, followed by organization, capacity for teamwork, punctuality, critical thinking, social savvy, creativity and adaptability.” Looking at this list you can see that these are not things that you can just attend one training class and be ready to go. These skills take time to build and learn. Expecting that people will just figure it out on their own is not realistic and requires some out of the box thinking to build these capabilities. Coaching, mentoring and feedback in addition to training are necessary to redirect behavior in a positive way.
What should you take away as an interviewer/manager or a candidate?
As an interviewer/manager:
- Think about how you can adapt the questions that you ask to determine if the candidate has these skills and used them effectively?
- How can you give the candidate real life scenarios that will gauge how they will behave and communicate in these situations?
- Consider leveraging assessments that can help you to better understand how the person behaves naturally and how they adapt to see if they will be a good fit.
- Ask peers to provide feedback on the candidate once they are hired to see how they are doing and where they need more help.
- Look for ways to support the team with lunch n’ learns, mentors and coaches to support their growth and development of soft skills
- Be creative to give them opportunities to demonstrate their learnings and provide regular feedback
As a potential candidate:
- You may want to do some self-assessment on your own soft skills.
- How can you use examples or demonstrate those soft skills during the interview?
- What can you share that will ensure the interviewer sees the soft skills that you have and how you can leverage them effectively?
Are you looking to improve your soft skills or the skills of your team members? The power of a mastermind is there to help you move forward with the help and support of a group. Would you like to hear more about the Powerful Leadership Mastermind group that is just getting started? We have a few spots left for the group which meets every other week on Tuesday mornings.
The group is led by me and my partner (and cousin) Kim who are both ICF Certified Coaches. We are offering an introductory rate to join and we are looking for people who are motivated to make a change in their personal or professional lives. If you would like to learn more about it and join the group you can click on this link: Powerful Leadership Mastermind or reach out to me.