Employers value soft skills

Vancouver - Adi Rosin was CEO of a high-tech company with a New York office looking to hire engineers - and he wanted the best for the growing firm.

He selected the applicants who attended the top schools and with the highest academic standing, but when they arrived for the job interviews, something was missing.

"I screened for the brightest of the crop - they all had one or two degrees from the finest schools in the world - but I came out of those interviews really saddened," Rosin says.

"Something was failing these guys. They were brilliant people, and they could write phenomenal code. But if I had asked them to interact with other team members, or write an e-mail to obtain a response, it would have been a disaster."

They had the credentials, but they rarely made eye contact during the interview. Their posture lacked confidence. The handshakes were limp.

"I'm not talking about appearance," Rosin says. "They had the best education money could buy, but there was so much missing."

Rosin was puzzled, so he started paying attention to articles about teamwork and leadership. He was fascinated by the subject and he realized those young engineers were missing some important skills they don't teach at school. Skills such as assertiveness, leadership and how to interact with people.

"It's not about being smart, but these skills aren't taught in school," says Rosin, 47. "I would have loved to know these things when I was 18."

When he became a father himself, he began to think about what he could do to help his children lead happy and successful lives, and a few years later, he left the high-tech world and moved with his family to West Vancouver. But rather than look for work in his field, the software engineer created an after-school program for elementary and high school students that teaches the "soft skills" they don't learn in class.

The course, called Intelligent for Life, is now beginning its second year with students in North and West Vancouver, and Rosin plans to expand to other areas. He hopes that by learning these skills early, young people will be more successful at work and in life.

"I believe you should start learning these things as early as possible," he says. "You can be really smart, but still be unsuccessful if you're missing the social skills."

Knowing how to work well with others and how to be your best in a job interview are important, but finding the right fit is also critical for job-seekers as well as employers, according to Jan van der Hoop, co-founder of a Halifax-based company that develops hiring practices for companies.

"We are told the steps to putting together a good resume and cover letter and we learn interview techniques, but none of this deals with fit," says van der Hoop, president of HiringSmart.

"I think the problem is the hiring process - it hasn't changed in 50 years and it's not working. Credentials, education and work history are the worst predictors of success, and people are leaving their jobs in droves either mentally or physically.

"If the fit is off, you are never going change it."

Collecting the details is part of the hiring process, but they shouldn't be the focus, he says. In fact, his company counsels employers to adopt resume-free hiring - looking for candidates with the right attitude and values, and considering how they will fit with their manager, the job, the team and the company before checking credentials.

"If the fit is right, you can teach what's missing," van der Hoop says.

While his company works with employers, he says job-seekers should also be looking for the right fit when interviewing for a new position.

Ask questions, but also be willing to share information about yourself during the interview.

If you can articulate what type of manager and work environment motivates you, there's a better chance of finding the right job.

"Everyone has a vested interest in fit," he says. "There are all kinds of prices to pay for disengagement. We have to get away from the belief that any job is a good job."