Recruiting for Soft Skills

Have your clients ever asked you to find candidates with "soft skills?"

Is this common even with recruiters in fields like IT, Legal, Accounting, etc.?

If so, how do you screen for this? What types of questions do you ask?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Amber on November 23, 2011 at 11:33am

I think for the most part - regardless of the industry or position - there is always a certain amount of "soft skills" I look for, or a client wants. In general, most people are going to have to work or interact with other human beings so it is important for me to know specifics about what the candidate will be doing, and who they will be interacting with.

At the very least, I would think most recruiters that actually talk to candidates are determining some sort of "soft skills" from the beginning. It goes hand in hand with which candidates you determine are the best fit for the client's position. From there, the type and depth of "soft skills" are developed depending on the actual job.

I do not meet with most candidates or clients in person due to logisitics, but with candidates in particular I try and tailor my calls and emails to what they will need to present if and when they interview with my client. So for example, if I am looking for a industrial sales manager I will delve into some of their past situations and how they handled them. Sometimes it is not the specific answers but HOW they answer that guides what else I might discuss with them. I have also recently started trying to do Skype calls if able, they usually seem to help me get more familiar with the personality and see some of their "soft skills".