Soft skills matter. Hard skills are the technical skills that people learn as part of the job. They are the skills that, by and large, will get a person hired over other candidates. Employers understand the values of these skills, but they’re hard to screen for. Fortunately, we have the best soft skill interview questions that will help you find the best talent.
Best Soft Skill Interview Questions
Soft skills help you adapt. They go beyond just understanding how to do the job and make it easier to work with that candidate. For example, mechanics need to know how to fix cars. Dentists need to know how to fix teeth. Everyone has hard job skills but it’s the ones with the best soft skills that make you want to frequent their business or work with them on a project. Soft skills are personal attributes like emotional EQ, social skills, communication skills, and more. Soft skills are your attitude and work ethic.
To interview for soft skills, you’ll need the STAR interview method to help you assess candidate soft skills. STAR stands for:
- Situation—Ask questions that describe a workplace situation.
- Task—Ask about the candidate’s involvement in the situation.
- Action—Describe the action taken or how the candidate acted in the situation.
- Result—What happened as a result?
Following the STAR method is a common type of behavioral interview methodology. Behavioral interview questions seek to quantify a candidate’s soft and hard skills based on their past behaviors. These types of questions can help you truly understand the level of soft skills your candidate has. Here are some of the best examples of good soft skill questions to ask candidates:
- Describe a time when you had to lead a team through a tough situation.
This question helps the interviewer look for leadership skills. Look for perseverance, intelligence, and people skills. - What happens when you have simultaneous deadlines and how do you prioritize?
This question will help you understand the emotional maturity of the candidate. Did they ask their boss to prioritize for them or did they show initiative and figure it out? Were they challenged or frustrated and how did they handle this? - Describe the biggest challenge you faced in your last job. Did you overcome it?
The answer to this question speaks to troubleshooting and problem solving as well as teamwork. - Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your employer’s decision. What did you do?
How adaptable is this candidate? How do they handle adversity? This question speaks to emotional maturity and how they settle conflict on the job. - What are your top three considerations when looking at a new job?
You’re looking at what matters to this candidate. Their answer will help you figure out their fit for the role they’ve applied for. - Have you ever taken on a task without prior experience? How did you learn what you needed to know?
Look for candidates that work on tasks that go beyond their job description. Are they creative and diligent in teaching themselves the skills they need to know?
Finding the right mix of soft and hard skills in any candidate is hard. Hiring is a risky process that can cost you a lot if you get it wrong. That’s why Gecko is devoted to helping businesses streamline and perfect their hiring processes. You have jobs. We have candidates. Let’s talk.
