It is a very important aspect of operation for most companies to select the right employee for a given role, as well as to apply the right method of selection. It is obviously also vital to filter the applicants for an open position as usually a high portion of those sending in their CVs are actually not fit for the advertised position.
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
A company may decide on its own how important is real knowledge, degrees and certificates or knowing Excel. Actually it is quite understandable that a firm would prefer to work with someone with existing skills since training a new employee may be a long and tiresome process requiring another full-time co-worker.Therefore, selecting an applicant for a position that already disposes of the actual knowledge, so called hard skills, is much easier. At the same time, career entrants, having just finished higher education, may bring a new point of view, a fresh atmosphere or new skills to the venture.
Hard skills are the actually measurable and certifiable capabilities whereas soft skills are the usually invisible, social abilities. It is much easier to learn a new hard skill, while a soft skill is more of a trait or characteristic, so learning it may not be an option. One may stand out among other applicants with their soft skills and many employers are looking eagerly to see what soft skills an applicant disposes of.
Why are soft skills so vital?
One of the most important treasures in the life of a company is a loyal, reliable employee, the most suited to the given position. When we are aware of an applicant’s soft skills during the selection process, we may integrate that person in a much easier way. Learning about the abilities of a person also helps us understand how one studies quicker, concentrates better and remains motivated, this way shortening the training period. These are all key factors in finding the loyal and reliable employee.
What are the soft skills we need to look for in a job applicant?
Positive attitude
General positive thinking, behaviour and attitude have an effect on the whole organisation. These skills of a new recruit may bring a fresh, positive spirit to the firm. We all know such negative personalities, who just claim “most things are always bad”. These types of people are not just useless but also detrimental to the company atmosphere and plant their pessimism onto others.
Strong work ethic
The whole team may benefit from someone that continuously shows diligence and ambition. Motivation and proper work ethic greatly enhance the common team effort as well as support the individual motivation for work.
Creativity
Creativity has many different varieties used in all fields of everyday life. It is also easily related to good problem solving skills. When someone finds creative solutions, most probably other innate skills are also outstanding.
Flexibility
An indispensable skill needed for teamwork. Working with someone who is not flexible can be incredibly challenging. It may hinder cooperation and produces unnecessary stress.
Good problem solving skills
As we have mentioned previously at the Creativity paragraph, working is much easier with someone who has a good and creative problem solving ability. Furthermore we may rest assured that tasks issued requiring individual work will also be solved and completed.
Self-confidence
Healthy self-confidence plays an important role in many areas of our everyday lives. It is important to be aware of our own capabilities and to make sure we do not hide these. We need to be proud of them while remaining modest.
Why is it complicated to define exactly what soft skills are needed for a given role?
The exact definition of optimal abilities may be a lot to chew on even for the largest companies, this is why it is worth assigning this job to experts. If we decide to employ professional assistance we may find a much more cost friendly solution while the time spent on recruiting the most ideal co-worker will also shorten. Besides, the well aimed and well placed job advertisements also play an important role in finding a reliable and suitable new employee.
These days it is increasingly difficult to find the perfect colleague, since it is not only the certifiable, factual knowledge that weighs considerably in the selection, but a significant portion of the decision making process will be based on the soft skills. Are you also struggling with the selection process and are not able to find loyal, reliable co-workers? Allow experts to do the hard part of the job. Let us, let iJob help you!
Ask for the assistance of our experts today!