Soft skills can help with the make-or-break decision between two awesome candidates.
Make sure you know which soft skills are important for your role and choose questions to match.
Soft skills interview questions
Adaptability
- What are the biggest challenges in a new role?
- How would you deal with a huge change in a project? How would you adjust your work and ensure your team stays motivated?
Collaboration
- How do you deal with colleagues who you just don’t connect with?
- What would you do if your team was never on board with your ideas?
Communication
- How do you engage a bored audience when you present?
- How do you deal with angry customers?
Decision-making
- Everyone makes unpopular decisions now and again. How do you approach these and handle the feedback?
- What’s the best way to awesome team decision-making?
Leadership
- Have you ever fired someone? Why and how?
- How do you motivate your team? Give an example.
Time management
- How do you produce quality work with multiple projects and tight deadlines?
- Describe a time you missed a deadline. What went wrong and what would you change next time?
How to ace soft skills questions
- Look to the past: Ask questions about your candidates previous experience to understand if and how candidates use soft skills on the job.
- Use hypothetical scenarios: Ask situational questions or give assignments that simulate job duties.
- Score candidates: Interview scorecards help keep tabs on candidate answers.
- Stick to the plan: Ask the same questions to each candidate to avoid bias. It’s also easier to compare answers and make objective hiring decisions.
Candidates to avoid
- Quick, generic answers: If a candidate can’t describe specific situations, they’re probably not genuine. Ask follow-up questions to get clarifications.
- Contradictory answers: Avoid candidates who say they’re organized and also describe situations where they’ve been rushed for time. Instead, look for candidates who show steady behavior.
- They’re not a culture fit: Not all soft skills are created equal. Look for candidates who use soft skills that match your company culture and business needs.
