Hard skills and soft skills have been recurring themes in the management of Human Resources in companies. But, do you know what they mean?
Skills, competence – that is, the ability to perform something. Thus, hard skills and soft skills are nomenclatures intended for the technical and behavioral skills of a person.
These two joints are critical to the success of a professional and should be observed by recruiters in the evaluation that precedes a hiring.
In this post, you will learn what are hard skills and how to identify them in selective processes. Follow the article to learn more!
After all, what are the hard skills?
These are skills that can be quantified. They can also be taught throughout learning processes, both inside and outside the company. Examples of hard skills:
- University graduate;
- MBA;
- Masters or doctoral degree;
- Proficiency in a given language;
- Specific certifications;
- Technical courses;
- Tool handling;
- Machine operation;
- Skills in computer programs;
- Calculations;
- Writing;
- Software development.
In general, it is possible to measure if a particular professional has hard skills by means of practical tests or even by questioning about his training, the books read, training and courses that he has participated throughout his career.
How can companies identify Hard Skills in the selection process?
When structuring a job description, it is important to detail the skills – both technical (hard) and behavioral (soft) – that the company intends to identify in the candidates for the open position.
This is important to facilitate evaluation and so that Recruitment and Selection (R & S) professionals can have the same rule for all candidates.
For example: if the open position is for a marketing analyst, it is very important to highlight some hard skills such as:
- Have knowledge of market analysis tools;
- Know how to make presentations and defense of products/services;
- Have knowledge in computer systems.
All of these skills can be assessed through practical tests.
What are the most valued Hard Skills?
These skills, in general, are described in the application form that the professional sends to the first stage of a recruitment process.
The hard skills most valued by the organizations depend,directly, of the position and type of function to be performed by the professional within the company.
Take the example: In the tax sector of a company, knowledge about tax legislation is a desirable skill. Already in the IT sector, the domain of programming languages can be an indispensable hard skill.
At the time of recruitment, these competencies can be observed through knowledge assessments, specific tests, among others. Some examples of hard skills most valued on the market today.
- PHP Domain
- Project management
- People management
- The domain of a second language
- Engine mechanics
- Programming
- Advanced Excel Domain
- Accounting
- Machine operation
Hard skills vs soft skills, what’s the difference?
What differs most significantly from hard skills and soft skills is the ability to prove them. While hard skill can be taught and learned, soft skills are inherent skills of each professional.
However, this does not mean that soft skills are innate abilities, that is, they cannot be developed.
In this scenario, both hard and soft skills are critical to the success of a professional within an organization.
How to draw the desired profile of the employee to the position, before starting the selection process?
Before announcing the vacancy, it is important to chart the desired profile and to scope the desired skills. Here’s the step-by-step guide we’ve prepared for you!
Mapping
The first step in drawing the desired profile for a position is to map the hard skills and soft skills necessary for the role. Therefore, it is fundamental to consider the degree of interaction with other employees and even the values and organizational culture, as well as the activities that should be carried out in the daily life, in line with the desired results.
Job Description
After drawing the ideal profile for each position, the next step is the preparation of the job description. The hard skills are indispensable for filling the vacancy and are already described in the advertisement.
As mentioned, they can also be identified in the enrollment document evaluated through tests taken in this initial stage.
As already mentioned, to evaluate them in a more consistent way, Recruitment and Selection professionals can apply proof of knowledge tests. Another way to prove the hard skills is to request copies of the official certifications and check if the institutions are recognized and trusted.
The soft skills require a more detailed observation and can be verified through psychological tests, besides being observed in the video interview and in person.
Interview
Face-to-face conversation, behavioral and group or individual dynamics tests, in which candidates simulate business day-to-day situations, are critical to a selection process.
In these steps, the R & S professional has the chance to make a careful observation and in-depth analysis to filter out those candidates who do not have the desired requirements for the position.
As we have seen throughout this post, hard skills are and will continue to be key competencies, and R & S professionals must be aware of them in order to make the best choices and thus generate more competitiveness for the company.
In addition, soft skills are also very important for efficient delivery and have features that are increasingly desired by companies.
Thus, these two competencies are complementary and need to be analyzed in a judicious way to set up a productive, balanced, motivated and harmonious team.
Therefore, it is up to the R & S team to analyze both hard skills and soft skills to establish the ideal skills profile for open positions in companies.
If you liked this post about hard skills: what are they and how to identify them, like our Facebook page to follow more content like this!