How recruiters and hiring managers can evaluate candidates’ soft skills

We’ve heard a lot in recent months about the trend toward skills-based hiring, but are HR managers actually hiring candidates based on their skills?

Well, it seems the jury is still out, but 65% of US hiring managers say they’re at least open to hiring candidates based on skills instead of work experience, according to a Resume Genius survey. And while 47% consider education to be “important,” just 25% view it as “essential.”

The report also found that 48% of respondents wouldn’t hire a candidate who didn’t have the necessary soft skills for a role. Geoffrey Scott, senior hiring manager at Resume Genius, agrees with this strategy. He believes that managers should prioritize soft skills over degrees or job titles.

“Other hiring managers, other recruiters…should look at candidates [as] the whole package, not just what their degree is and what experience they have and what hard skills they have listed down, because that’s very mechanical, that’s very surface level,” Scott told HR Brew. “People bring a lot more to a team and a company than just the boxes they check.”

Finding skills. When recruiters and hiring managers read résumés or cover letters, Scott said, they’re not always able to gauge candidates’ full skill sets. One way he tries to dig deeper is by asking about hobbies and interests. He said these questions often get candidates to “open up” and let their softer skills shine.

“Spend a bit more time getting to know the candidates you’re suggesting to companies to see if they’re actually a really good fit,” he said. Writing samples and portfolios, he added, can also help recruiters and hiring managers “get a feel for what kind of personality and what kind of mindset they might bring to the job.”

And as more companies look to bring workers back to offices, Scott said soft skills such as interpersonal communication will be even more crucial.

“Even if you have people with really strong hard skills…they’re not necessarily going to be an asset to your company…if they don’t work well with their employees, [if] they’re not reliable.”