I believe that soft skills have become just as essential as hard skills in today’s work environment. This is especially true for technology professionals. Having the right technical skills and domain knowledge will only take you so far. The other half is having a well-rounded set of soft skills that will enable you to contribute to the work ecosystem meaningfully.  

I think back to a study conducted by Stanford Research Center, Harvard University, and Carnegie Foundation in 2020 highlighting an incredible fact. It reported that 85% of job success comes from excellent soft (and people) skills. This implies that merely 15% of success on the job is attributed to technical skills. 

This makes sense when you realize that only 31% of employers actually provide soft skill development and training to their employees. Hence, speaking from personal experience, hiring a candidate who already has the requisite soft skills is a more valuable addition to the organization. Inevitably, this has become one of the core outlooks of every hiring team in the technology domain. 

Even the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs report suggests that by 2025, complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management and emotional intelligence will be the most coveted skills in the workplace. Not only will this entail upskilling for 50% of all employees, it means soft skills will become the deciding factor between a “qualified candidate” and a “qualified candidate who can become a leader and valued team member”. 

This reinforces my belief that soft skills play a significant role in assessing how a potential employee aligns with the values, beliefs, practices and future growth of an organization. So, when I set out to find talent for any of my partners or TeemGenie itself, I keep a close eye on the candidate’s soft skills. More often than not, they end up being deal breakers when the candidates depict some serious red flags during the interview. 

So, I thought, instead of just sharing what these soft skills are or how they’re judged, I’ll share my experiences where the lack of soft skills became a major bottleneck for the candidate. Essentially, in this blog, you’ll find out what not to do during an interview to make sure you’re not voted out due to missing soft skills. 

Instance 1: Do you have any questions for me? 

It’s a trade secret but I generally start an interview by asking the candidate if they have any questions. This allows me to understand their ability to communicate their thoughts and queries effectively and to see how they initiate a discussion.  

Much like any other time, I did the same thing with one of the candidates who replied instantly with a quick, “No”. This set the worst first impression the candidate could have wanted. However, not to jump to conclusions, I gave the candidate another chance and asked if they have any questions for me now, but the NO was consistent.  It showed me that the candidate had not researched enough about the role or the company to ask any exploratory questions. It showed me a lack of inquisitiveness, incapability to lead a conversation and underconfidence. Not to mention, it reflects a lack of interest in the company or the product they’re building and sincerity towards the role. Since this candidate was applying for a mid-senior level position, it was a complete dealbreaker for me. 

The way you communicate says a lot about you. While most candidates are busy practising their answers, you should also be confident enough to know your questions. 

Instance 2: Are you kidding us?

This instance was a complete nightmare for me. We were hiring for a VP Engineering role for one of TeemGenie’s customers and interviewing a rather senior experienced candidate who had been in the industry for more than 15 years. 

The candidate joined the interview with their phone and their kid! Yes, their little kid was with them during the interview, bantering, rebelling and basically interrupting the discussion while the candidate was moving around the house with their phone. We eventually had to tell the candidate to reschedule for a time that was more convenient, but the host of recruiters, including me, had made up our minds to not proceed with the candidate. 

I must point out that I understand that the lines between work and personal life are slightly blurred in the post-Covid era. However, as a professional, there’s a level of sincerity and discipline that you need to demonstrate in an interview, especially one where you’re applying for such a high-level position. 

Instance 3: I’m too good for this question!

Another way that I usually plan my interviews with senior position candidates is by starting with a small tech problem and then complicating it to understand their problem-solving skills and subject expertise. However, in one of the interviews, this technique also helped me understand a candidate’s leadership stance. 

So, I asked about a basic database problem to a candidate. As soon as I posed the question, the candidate got offended and responded by saying, “Don’t you think this problem is too amateur for someone of my experience?”. 

That showed me arrogance – because those in senior roles may not have to solve minuscule problems at their level but they’re always sought for guidance by their juniors. A good leader should be open to giving a solution instead of saying that the problem is too basic for their standards or dissing the person for asking a question that simple. 

I still made the candidate answer the question and then kept on complicating the problem. It was only in the end that the candidate realised that my first question was just a base for a bigger complex question. The candidate apologised for judging too quickly but the damage was done. 

Instance 4: Are you bugged or not?

Another question that I often asked mid-senior level candidates is whether there has been a bug or a problem that they faced in the experience that they couldn’t solve for a long time and which kept them up at night. 

This not only helps me gauge their technical expertise but also tells me a lot about their approach towards problems. Do they give up easily? Do they own the problems or directly go to their seniors? Or do they stay with the problem and keep persevering until it’s fixed? The last ones are the ones interviewers usually look out for. 

I usually am put off by a candidate who responds to this question by saying, “No, I haven’t faced any such problem.”

That’s a red flag for me because it suggests that either the candidate has not had enough technical exposure in their entire tech career or that they’re just too proud to admit any instance where they were not able to handle a problem. Either way, I find the candidate not adept as they’re not open to learning and growth. 

Instance 5: I can’t read your mind! 

Lastly, one of the most common problems that I face with candidates is their communication skills. If I had a penny for every time I have interacted with a candidate who has the technical skills for the job but is not able to effectively communicate their potential, I would be unrealistically rich by now. 

I remember this one candidate who was answering a question but getting stuck a lot in communicating their thoughts and ended up saying, “I know the answer but I am not able to tell you exactly what I am thinking.”

That’s disheartening because communication today is key for any organization and if a candidate isn’t able to put forth their thoughts and opinions, he’s not really adding value to the organization, especially in senior roles. Imagine a CTO-level candidate with poor communication skills – how would any company work well with them? They would neither be able to guide the team, nor be able to handle the stakeholders. 

Soft Skills Are A Key Differentiator

If you ask me, at mid-senior and senior-level positions, technical expertise is a given. We, as recruiters, know that. However, it is a candidate’s soft skills that make a difference. It is the personality and the confidence that they demonstrate in the interview that becomes a deciding factor in choosing one candidate over the other. 

So, as you grow, you need to put equal (if not more) conscious effort into honing your soft skills as well, and not just technical expertise – to stand out in the job market and convince potential employers that you would be a valuable addition to the organization. 

If you’re looking for ways to not only improve your interview skills but also your resume, you can also check out RoomToGrow. It’s an initiative I’ve taken to bridge the gap between what candidates offer and what companies are looking for. As a talent scout who has worked with leading companies and startups to hire over 500 tech candidates, I can provide you with insights and suggestions to help improve your overall profile, understand your aspirations and recommend the right steps to take your next step. I’ll connect with you to discuss your career journey, growth opportunities, and scope of upskilling and improvement – wherever there’s RoomToGrow, we’ll find it. If that sounds interesting, check it out here!