The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: What They Are, Why They Matter and How to Hire for Them

The workplace is more demanding, complex, collaborative and diverse than it has ever been before – especially amid the COVID-19 crisis.  As a talent acquisition professional, you are aware that matching the right people to the right job, during times of crisis, is critical to ensuring your organization succeeds. Finding candidates who will excel in this changing environment means finding people with the right balance of hard skills and soft skills. While some employers prioritize hard skills, many executives are saying they really need candidates with strong soft skills. In fact, according to CareerBuilder, 77% of employers believe that soft skills are just as important as hard skills, and almost 20% said they are more important than hard skills. However, assessing a candidate’s soft skills, those behavioral attributes that determine how a person interacts with other people, challenges, setbacks and opportunities, can be difficult to quantify and aren’t easily taught – especially in a remote hiring environment. Join us and learn how you can create a hiring strategy that identifies and rewards the right soft skills for the right job. In addition, you’ll discover:  

• The difference between hard skills and soft skills and why soft skills matter. 

• How soft skills differ across the generations. 

• Some of the soft skills to consider when hiring candidates for a remote-based working environment. 

• Ways to leverage soft skills for organizational and job fit. 

• How behavioral-based interviewing and online reference checking can help you find the best candidates for every role.