Looking for soft skills when hiring today’s top talent in Texas is important. These skills help a candidate stand out among other candidates with similar qualifications. Soft skills also indicate that a candidate would contribute to a positive work environment.

Because hard skills can be taught and soft skills cannot, you should look for soft skills when hiring. The following are among the skills to find.

Discover five soft skills to look for in today’s top talent in Texas.

Time Management

Seek candidates who can prioritize their tasks, minimize distractions, and finish quality work before the deadlines. Efficient use of time is especially important in roles that require adherence to strict timelines and management of multiple stakeholders.

Consider asking each candidate how they prioritize tasks and structure their day. Gain insight into how the candidate handles deadlines and completes their work on time.

Communication

Search for candidates who can share information, thoughts, and ideas in various settings and channels. Examples include in-person conversations, videoconferences, emails, and communication platforms.

You might ask each candidate to describe a situation where they had to share negative information with a coworker. Then, focus on each answer to determine how the candidate communicates in adverse circumstances. The ability to communicate well during difficult circumstances indicates the ability to communicate under typical circumstances.

Active Listening

Look for candidates who can understand and respond to directions and feedback. This quality is especially important for remote roles that lack the context of in-person communication.

Consider gauging each candidate’s active listening skills by providing a prompt that requires listening carefully, asking questions, and delivering results. For instance, you could describe a role-related problem the candidate might experience, then provide time to develop and present a solution. You can evaluate how well the candidate listened to instructions, asked questions, and delivered results under pressure.

Collaboration

Seek candidates who get along and work well with colleagues and coworkers. These candidates understand the importance of requesting and providing support when needed to help reach common goals. The actions contribute to high employee engagement, productivity, and performance.

You might ask each candidate to discuss how they handled disagreements with previous colleagues and coworkers. Or, you could ask them to share a project they worked on with a team and the results. The answers provide insight into the candidate’s collaboration skills.

Problem-Solving

Search for candidates who can think critically and develop creative solutions to problems in a short amount of time. The ability to assess an issue, identify potential resolutions, and choose and implement the best one is beneficial. Candidates must adapt to changing circumstances and pivot when needed to effectively solve problems.

Consider assessing each candidate’s problem-solving abilities by providing a potential role-related problem and requesting solutions. Use the answers to gauge how well the candidate thinks critically under challenging circumstances to resolve an issue.

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