Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today we’re going to continue our look at advanced skills for interviewing and hiring the right people.

What exactly do I mean by the “right people?” Well, you’ve likely got a list of qualifications that you’re looking for. And that probably includes something about education, experience, and job-related skills. But as we covered in our last lesson, there’s much more to it than that. We need someone who’s a good fit with our workplace, and with the right soft skills.

There’s one soft skill I want to emphasize above all others, and that’s critical thinking. Critical thinking is one of several “21st-century skills,” as HR experts like to call them. It involves analyzing situations and data, making logical inferences, recognizing patterns, evaluating, and prioritizing. It also involves creativity and curiosity.

You can’t get a certificate in critical thinking. And it’s not likely to be on the checklist of qualifications. But it is hugely beneficial in almost every role. To assess this skill, use a scenario-based question such as this: “You are tasked with brainstorming a new marketing campaign on a limited budget. What steps would you take to ensure the campaign is effective?” This kind of question should be tailored to the job, rather than being abstract, such as “tell me about a time you had to analyze something?”

Sometimes when we talk about job roles, we naturally discuss what happens when everything is running smoothly. But questions like the first example are more about challenges. And it’s in the face of crisis or problems that you’ll find out what an employee is really made of. So you can ask very directly how someone would deal with the challenges that you know come up in the role.

Asking about specific challenges helps both you and the candidate assess suitability. You want someone who can rise to those challenges. Consider a question like this: “The job involves managing tight deadlines and working under pressure. How do you respond in situations like this?” Answers to questions about challenges can be very illuminating. You’ll see pretty clearly which candidates know what it’s like to deal with that kind of challenge.

Besides understanding how people might deal with the role’s challenges, we want to see how they are with the general work environment and arrangements. You might have someone with all the right skills and experience who nails the interview, but then you find out they can’t handle your noisy or frantic open office setup.

So think about the arrangements and workplace and evaluate the person’s ability to work in that kind of environment. Make it clear whether you have a distributed team, a hybrid workplace, or if you expect everyone in the office five days a week. Don’t just ask if the person is okay with the arrangement. Ask them about strategies they use to thrive in those different environments and arrangements.

In all of these conversations, remember that the candidate is also evaluating you and the suitability of your workplace. That’s why being upfront is important. Job-seekers have a lot of choice these days. And you want strong candidates to choose you. Not just now, but into the future as well.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to find out how the job fits into the person’s long-term plans. You don’t want your company to just be a stepping stone. So ask about long-term aspirations. Ask where the person sees themself in 5 or 10 years. Ask what aspects of the role are particularly appealing as they relate to career goals. These kinds of questions will help you determine not only if the person is right for the role, but if the role is right for the person.

Getting it right with hiring and interviewing is more important than ever before. Competition in every industry is fierce. Costs are rising. Turnover is especially expensive. And company loyalty seems like a thing of the past. So you need to know if the person you’re hiring can solve problems, rise to the challenges, and thrive in the workplace. As the primary method of assessing job candidates, interviews are simply too important to not do well.

That’s all for today. So long. And see you again soon!