Hiring managers regularly judge candidates purely on their knowledge and experience, putting their employer’s business at risk. Now, more than ever, expertise is only part of a job.
In the Millennial world, the ideal candidate for your vacancy is a person who brings technical knowledge and the ability to lead, communicate and manage their time well. They must have the capacity to live, love, and share the brand values which the company stands for.
That’s the dream candidate, but often hiring managers stop at expertise, ignoring the value and importance of interpersonal skills. In the Hospitality industry, they’re called soft skills – the ability to deliver for the business, whilst also delivering an excellent customer experience. And whilst IT, finance, and consulting employees rarely come into contact with the customer, they interact with people equally as important – other employees.
The Largest Skills Gaps
In the latest Emerging Jobs Report from LinkedIn – a good measure of the top skills needed by employers – soft skills were highlighted as being in short supply. From Marketing and Sales to start-ups, Software Development, and Cloud Computing, soft skills are a need for communication, management, leadership, and teamwork. What an employee can do technically is important, but how they do it can make the difference between a business succeeding and lose out to a competitor who has ensured their talent has a balance of hard and soft skills.
As you would expect, the LinkedIn Emerging Jobs Report highlighted the rise of Automation and Data roles, such as Blockchain Developer, Machine Learning Engineer, and Data Scientist. But soft skills, such as leadership, communication, and time management made up almost 50% of the skill gaps list. In a fast-changing world where expertise can become outdated in months. Soft skills remain consistently relevant. Those with them have an advantage over those relying purely on knowledge and experience.
Top 5 Soft Skills to Assess in Interviews
Soft skills are essential in any role. With an increasingly transient Millennial workforce, finding candidates that can live values and communicate well is key to reducing staff turnover and business risk. Whether it’s IT jobs in Bangkok or Finance roles across Asia, Assessing soft skills in an interview is more difficult than measuring hard skills.
Here’s a rundown of the top five soft skills to look for, according to a survey of 1,200 hiring managers performed by LinkedIn.
As an employer, you should develop your own questions to assess these skills, and as a candidate, you should come ready to give examples of your soft skillset:
1. Adaptability
2. Culture Fit
3. Collaboration
4. Leadership
5. Growth Potential
The ‘soft stuff’ is what separates us from the machines
AI is here and replacing people in roles across the global economy. But the potential of AI and machine learning has also highlighted its shortcomings. As more of your competitors switch to automated processes, so the benefits of relationships, personal human-to-human service, and empathy are desired even more. These human traits are what separates us from the machines, and as long as you have human customers, employees, and suppliers, hiring people with excellent soft skills will always benefit your business.
For help finding candidates with all the essential hard and soft skills to transform your business, get in touch.
