How to Assess Soft Skills in Candidates

Key takeaways

• Soft skills are harder to self-report accurately, which makes structured assessment more valuable, not less.
• Situational judgment and behavioral assessments are the most direct way to measure soft skills.
• Different soft skills matter more for different roles — pick the ones most relevant to the job.
• Interview questions should follow up on assessment results with real examples.
• Soft skill results work best as interview context, not a standalone pass/fail filter.

Why soft skills are hard to assess from a resume

Almost every resume claims strong communication and teamwork — the words are easy to write and hard to verify. Interviews help, but candidates who interview well are not automatically the strongest communicators or collaborators on the job. Structured assessment closes that gap by presenting the same realistic scenario to every candidate and comparing how they actually respond.

This does not replace the interview — it gives the interview something concrete to build on instead of starting from a blank slate.

How to assess soft skills

1. Identify which soft skills matter most for the role. Customer-facing roles lean on communication and emotional intelligence; cross-functional roles lean on teamwork and adaptability.
2. Use a situational judgment or behavioral assessment rather than a self-report questionnaire alone.
3. Compare every candidate on the same scenarios to keep the evaluation consistent.
4. Follow up in the interview by asking for a real example related to a specific result.
5. Weigh soft skill results alongside technical fit, not instead of it.

Examples

A healthcare provider hiring patient coordinators uses an emotional intelligence assessment alongside a communication skills test, since the role requires managing difficult conversations calmly and clearly.

A consulting firm hiring project associates assesses adaptability and teamwork, since the role moves between client engagements and cross-functional teams frequently.

Assessments to use

• Communication Skills — written and verbal clarity and audience adaptation.
• Emotional Intelligence — self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation.
• Adaptability — response to change and ambiguity.
• Teamwork & Collaboration — cooperation and shared responsibility.

Browse the full assessment library →

Role-specific considerations

Customer-facing and people-management roles typically weigh soft skills most heavily. See Customer Service Representative and Team Leader for ready-made combinations.

Connecting results to the interview

If a communication result suggests written clarity is worth verifying, ask the candidate to summarize a complex topic in a short written response during the process, then review it directly rather than relying on impressions from the spoken interview alone.

Common mistakes

• Relying only on self-reported claims from a resume or cover letter.
• Assessing every soft skill for every role instead of the ones that actually matter for the job.
• Treating interview charisma as a proxy for communication skill, which correlates weakly with the real thing.
• Not following up assessment results with a specific interview question.

Frequently asked questions

Are soft skill assessments as reliable as skills tests?

They measure a different kind of ability and work best combined with skills tests and interviews rather than used alone.

Which soft skills should every role assess?

There is no universal list — choose based on what the role genuinely requires day to day.

Can soft skills improve with training after hiring?

Some can improve with coaching, but a strong baseline reduces onboarding time and risk, especially for customer-facing roles.

How do I avoid bias in soft skill assessment?

Use the same structured questions for every candidate and interpret results consistently rather than relying on subjective impressions.

Should soft skills outweigh technical skills?

Neither should automatically outweigh the other — weight each based on what actually drives success in the specific role.

A note on methodology

This guide reflects common, widely-used hiring practice rather than a single proprietary study. For details on how our own assessments are built and scored, see our assessment approach.