Soft skills: Why are they important & how do I assess them? Technical skills are needed for practically every job role however it is also important not to forget those soft skills too. In a market which is still experiencing a candidate shortage, itҳ important for organisations to cast a wider net when assessing whether or not someone has the capabilities to do a job, this means looking at the natural behaviour and personality traits a candidate has as well as their technical skills. The difference between the two is that hard skills are built up over time and with experience, these are normally developed in previous roles or throughout life. They refer to the Ѵechnical skillsҠthat someone has to be able to perform a task or do a job. Some of the common examples are: Computer skills (Outlook/Microsoft/Excel) Critical thinking Problem-solving Soft skills are personal attributes an individual has They are a range of social and interpersonal skills which will be suited to particular types of work. Some of the most common soft skills are: Teamwork Patience Time management Communication What is Changing? Organisations are having a change of heart about what type of qualities they are looking for when recruiting. Many will focus more on how well their employees can communicate due to the popularity of remoteworking and hybrid. The importance of having their workers communicate well and efficiently is becoming more popular than ensuring someone has a list of technical skills to be able to do the job the day they start. Monsterҳ The Future of Work 2021: Global Hiring Outlook revealed soft skills such as collaboration, dependability and flexibility are among the skills employers most prize in workers ֠technical skills can be taught much more easily than soft skills In terms of assessing soft skills, this can be done effectively using psychometric testing, something we offer to those wepartner with during the recruitment process. There are different tests to assess different capabilities, and we can advise you on which are most appropriate. Assessing soft skills can be done through more interactiveinterview processes, walking around your organization with candidates for example and introducing them to different stakeholders to observe how they interact rather than just sitting them down for an interview. We can also assist you with developing certain interactive tasks for candidates to do which will draw out certain capabilities and approaches. Its also crucial to use the right types of interview questions too, behavioral andpersonality assessment question types will help you to assess how well candidates would learn new processes and information rather than only using situational questions that candidates would struggle to answer if they have little experience in the area of work. How to assess a candidateҳ soft skills There are many interview questions and ways of assessing candidates to measure their soft skills, however, this can be a timely process and can easily be condensed. Here are a few simple ways of assessing your candidateҳ soft skills: Ask candidates what soft skills they think are important ֠this could be asked against the criteria of the job description and person specification to help identify if the candidate can match any areas similar to the role Ask for specific examples of these soft skills in action ֠this is where the candidate identifies which soft skills they use regularly. Ask them to refer to previous situations, working with colleagues, leading a team, etc. Have the candidate explain their strongest and weakest skills ֠this gives you an idea of the range of skills they have and also where they may need to improve What Recruiters & Businesses can do As times change and different traits become more desirable, asHiring Managers and Recruiters we can use our initiative and start amending our recruiting materials and processes to ensure that we attract the best candidates. Bhayani Recruitment offers a holistic approach to recruitment. We can support you from the start right up until the end of the process to the point of you providing an offer. For further information on what we offer, look through ourwebsite. If you want us to help you find your ideal job click the button below. If you are a business or charity looking for your perfect candidate contact us today on0333 888 0290 or emailhello@bhayanirecruitment.co.uk Find your ideal job here Contact us today For HR, employment law and Health & Safety services for you or your business visit༳pan style="color: #eb0092;">www.bhayanilaw.co.uk Share this blog! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email WhatsApp