Top 5 Soft Skills to Look for in a Candidate

Key Highlights 

• Soft skills are among the most important skills for hiring a candidate for the company.
• Emotional intelligence is highlighted as crucial but is often seen as an underrated soft skill.
• Jobsoid supports soft skills evaluation techniques to identify suitable candidates for the role.

When seeking the right candidate, recruiters often focus only on technical or hard skills. While technical expertise is crucial, the candidates must also have the right soft skills. The combination of hard and soft skills plays an important role in determining their success. More than 61% of professionals agree that soft skills are a must in the workplace.

From communication to adaptability, each soft skill is extremely important and fosters better collaboration. Continue reading to learn what soft skills are needed to assess candidates while hiring them.

What are Soft Skills?

Soft skills refer to the personal traits that you have. These skills influence your performance and collaboration at the workplace. These soft skills are essential in creating trust, fostering dependability, and gathering a strong sense of time management. Moreover, soft skills also foster creativity, which is one of the requirements in the workplace.

5 Strong Soft Skills to Look for in a Candidate

By 2030, soft skills will make up for around 63% of jobs. So, while hiring a candidate, look for these five strong soft skills apart from their technical skills:

1. Communication skills

   The candidate you’re hiring should be very proficient in their communication. 57% of recruiters listed communication skills as the top soft skill they seek in a candidate. For instance, if a sales rep believes that a customer can benefit from their bundle pricing deals, they should be able to recommend it convincingly. Effective communication helps to build strong relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, and clients.

2. Leadership skills

   A good leader is the one who constantly inspires and encourages the team. Leadership is one of the basic soft skills that helps establish a sense of accountability. It also motivates the team to share the goal collectively.

3. Time management skills

   When working in an organization, candidates may often face high-pressure situations. Under certain situations, the respective candidate must not only be able to cope with pressure but also manage time. Time management ensures that the job is done within the timeline and accurately.

4. Active listening skills

   Someone who’s not an active listener can never be a good speaker. Active listening is a crucial quality to consider when selecting a candidate. If the respective candidate doesn’t listen properly, they cannot communicate their ideas. As a result, the team gap will increase, preventing the job from being done on time.

5. Collaboration skills

   The candidate you’re hiring should be able to collaborate with other team members properly. This allows the entire team to work together to achieve a shared goal. Individuals who work collaboratively can not only help achieve shared goals but also attain their individual goals.

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Why are Soft Skills Important?

Hiring a candidate with strong soft skills lets you stay ahead of the competition. It helps you increase productivity across many business sectors. Some of the prominent reasons why you should check soft skills for a resume include:

1. Facilitates easy conflict resolution

   Conflict resolution at the workplace needs to be done comfortably to avoid complex situations. If the candidate is hot-headed or not good at communication, resolving conflicts will always be a challenge.

2. Brings creativity to the table

   Candidates with strong soft skills always think outside the box. They aren’t the ones who give in to the general norms. Instead, for every problem, they bring a creative solution.

3. Facilitates teamwork

   Soft skills require proper communication and motivation. A candidate who excels in each of these areas can work properly within the team. They will also keep other team members motivated to work together.

4. Increases the productivity of business

   Candidates possessing soft skills play an essential role in boosting productivity at the workplace. They are motivated, communicate properly, and can get the job done on time.

5. Shows the ability to adapt to a new workplace

   Starting fresh at a new workplace can be challenging for a candidate. However, with the right set of soft skills, it will be easy for the candidates as well as the employers, as they can easily mingle with the audience and adapt.

In-Demand Soft Skills Examples

Emotional intelligence must be one of the most underrated soft skills in demand. As a recruiter, you should emphasize evaluating the emotional intelligence of potential candidates during the hiring process. This allows them to act responsibly in a crisis rather than freaking out.

Moreover, other common soft skills examples that every candidate you’re hiring must have are empathy and social skills. A candidate who can’t socialize with fellow employees may not always be a good fit for your organization.

Final thought

Hiring a candidate that fits the job description perfectly is no magic. At the same time, recruiters must also bring a proper ratio of hard and soft skills to fit into the workplace. With a proper recruitment plan and soft skills evaluation technique, recruiters can hire suitable candidates. Recruiting software like Jobsoid assists you in filling the gap and overcoming hiring challenges. No matter what kind of candidate you’re looking for, Jobsoid helps you hire professionals with the perfect combination of hard and soft skills.

Start recruiting the right candidates by signing up for a free Jobsoid account.