By | Tamara E. Holmes | Freelance Writer and Editor
Finding a diverse and talented pool of candidates is only the first step to building an effective recruitment strategy. To zero in on the right applicant for a particular position, you have to ask the right questions.
When it comes to a candidate’s competence, credentials don’t tell the whole story. Educational background and past job experiences are also not always the best predictors of success. In fact, many companies are moving away from looking for candidates with degrees in favor of identifying talent that possesses a desired skill set.
The best interview questions help recruiters home in on candidates who have the skills they are looking for by inviting them to speak about three types of proficiencies:
- Hard skills show that a candidate has the technical expertise to get the job done. For example, a marketing candidate might need to understand search engine optimization basics and have a mastery of email marketing tools.
- Soft skills, such as leadership acumen, communication capabilities, and adaptability, show that a candidate has personal qualities or emotional intelligence that can be useful in a variety of roles. A whopping 92% of talent professionals believe soft skills are as important or even more important than hard skills, according to LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report.
- Behavioral intelligence shows how candidates handled past challenging situations, which gives insight into how they may approach future ones.