Every job that is carried out by a human contains a mix of what we call “hard skills” and “soft skills”. These vary according to the job, the organisation, and often the organisation’s willingness to train candidates in any potential skill gaps they might have.
What are Hard Skills?
Broadly speaking, “hard skills” refer to tangible or technical skills. This can include degrees, knowledge of a particular language, or aptitude in a computer application. The way to consider “hard skills” from a practical perspective is that a candidate’s proficiency in these areas can usually be assessed by some kind of test, or a measurement of competence, such as a certification or a degree.
What are Soft Skills?
“Soft skills” on the other hand, are much harder to quantify. They cover things like leadership, problem solving ability, multitasking, communication, and reliability. In the recruitment industry we often call these skills the “intangibles” of a role. They often correlate very closely to the overall “fit” of an employee within an organization.
As a general rule “soft skills” cannot be assessed by reading a candidate’s CV. EVERYONE says they have strong leadership skills, great communication skills, or a strong attention to detail. What are great leadership skills? What are great communication skills?
How do we assess soft skills?
CBR Recruitment assists our clients by assessing the “soft skills” of candidates through the candidate registration process. Every candidate who registers with us undertakes a preliminary competency-based interview with an experienced Recruitment Consultant. They are asked to provide examples of situations where they: planned and organized their time; communicated with influence; solved a problem; contributed to a team; and led others to achieve outcomes. This assessment can be bolstered with CBR Recruitment’s DiSC behavioral profiling service, where a candidate’s natural work style, team cohesion and behavior in the workplace can be assessed.
The bottom line is that if an outstanding candidate is lacking a hard skill, such as lack of experience in a particular computer application, this can easily be resolved with some training. However, a general manager who is lacking a soft skill such as effective leadership ability is a much bigger problem!
