The job interview is often a stage in the recruitment process that’s dreaded by candidates, who can be nervous about what questions recruiters might ask. Applicants can be bewildered by certain questions that focus not so much on their professional skills, but on their personality traits.
However, these questions are becoming more and more frequent. Ohio native Salem Pierce has experienced this firsthand. The graphic designer was asked a question that caught her off guard as part of her application for a communications position, reports “Fortune”.
That question was: “How do you feel life has worked out for you so far?” And she was required to answer it with a short two- to five -minute video, as she explained on Twitter.
Her experience provoked many reactions on the social network. Some internet users judged, like her, that this question was intrusive in the context of a job interview, while others found it more relevant.
“Sometimes, I wish I had the opportunity to expand on my obstacles in life versus trying to make things make sense on my résume. For me, I think I would use this time to explain why my career trajectory looks how it does,” said one user.
While it is impossible to predict exactly what questions a recruiter will ask, they are increasingly asking job candidates about their interpersonal and behavioural skills, such as creativity, team spirit, perseverance and curiosity – what are commonly called soft skills. They allow employers to determine if a potential employee will be able to handle the kind of situations they might face within a company.
In recent years, soft skills have become a key part of the recruitment process. Nine out of 10 recruiters say that these skills will be increasingly sought, according to the 2019 edition of the “Global Talent Trends” report from LinkedIn.
This belief is supported by several reports, including one by Deloitte Access Economics, which predicts that two-thirds of all jobs in Australia will be soft-skills-based by 2030.
‘Tell us about yourself’
The craze for soft skills in the working world is such that it has contributed to the emergence of mad skills. This refers to unexpected and rare or unusual skills that make a candidate more unique.
It could be linked to a gap year abroad, a sporting challenge, or an unusual life experience. At first glance, these skills have little to do with most positions but, for recruiters, it shows a touch of originality that could allow a future employee to bring an offbeat, or even disruptive, perspective to professional challenges.
The increased focus on individual skills and aptitudes explains recruiters’ taste for asking questions about the personality of job candidates. This is why it’s not uncommon for them to start a job interview with the opener: “Tell us about yourself.”
The question may seem trivial, but it can actually turn out to be decisive, as explained on TikTok by professional coach @heyhellorecruiter. “We want you to set the tone when we ask this question. Almost immediately, we can tell by the way you answer that question if you’re going to be direct and concise with all the other questions we ask.
“We’ll know if you took the time to read the job description because of the relevant things you bring up… or if you read up on the company or the people you’re talking with,” she explains in a video, viewed nearly 147,000 times on the social media site.
It is, therefore, essential for jobseekers to anticipate potential questions from recruiters as much as possible. This will allow them to learn to structure their thoughts and direct the conversation towards the subjects they master or that they want to cover – in other words, to gain confidence and maximise their chances of success.