Soft skills make or break a team. But small teams break harder.
With fewer people, each interaction carries more weight. Both quantity and quality of output depend on working well together. So, smaller teams pay higher costs for a bad hire than their enterprise counterparts.
But we don't assess these skills with the attention they deserve. Instead, we rely heavily on traditional assessments that focus more on technical assessments. And they mostly fail to tell you how a candidate will perform in your environment.
But how do we objectively assess something so subjective?
Our evaluations of soft skills usually depend on these three sources: how great the candidate's interview personality is, past references, and our instincts.
Because, unlike tangible hard skills that are backed by degrees, certifications, and portfolios, soft skills operate in shadows. There is no standard scale to determine "how defensive a person gets during feedback" or "how well they really pay attention when others are talking". That's why it is hard to assess soft skills.
So, we fall back on what we know best in situations without any objectivity: we rely on our gut feelings, and what others have to say.
But we need more objective and reliable ways to assess soft skills. Apart from the three sources mentioned above, we can look at 5 signals to gather context.
5 ways to look beyond the obvious
Most times when you look at a resume, you just fixate on the hard skills that a resume reflects. But a resume can also give you a lot of information to understand the “people” side of the candidate.
Next time you review a resume, look for these:
1. What kind of employer have they worked for before?
Consider the stage of the companies the candidate has worked for in the past: Seed, Series A/B, to, enterprise. Their past work environment and their success in that environment gives you a good idea of what elements they are used to for their success.
For instance,
- Early-stage startups → Thrive in chaos, used to wearing multiple hats
- Growing companies → More structure oriented while making room for creativity
- Established corporations → Strong process skills, experience in large-scale operations
2. What kind of work have they done?
Look at the nature of the candidate's previous work: product development, service delivery, or a mix of both. This can give you insights into their core strengths and the type of work they are most comfortable with.
For example,
- Product development → Problem-solving skills, user-centric mindset, cross-functional collaboration
- Service delivery → Interpersonal skills, customer empathy, client relationship skills
3. With whom have they directly worked?
Next, pay attention to their reporting structure in previous roles: founders, C-level executives, or mid-level management. This indicates the level of responsibility they are accustomed to and the types of stakeholders they are comfortable working with.
For instance,
- Founders and C-level executives → Strong communication skills, strategic thinking, and confidence in high-stakes conversations
- Mid-level management → Ability to operate within team structures, follow direction, and contribute to well-defined objectives.
4. What kind of products they’ve built?
Examine the specific products or features the candidate has contributed to MVPs or mature, stable offerings.
This can reveal their experience with different stages of the product lifecycle and the associated challenges.
For example,
- MVPs → Comfort with rapid iteration, adaptability, prioritizing speed over perfection
- Mature products → Understanding of complex systems, focus on incremental improvements, attention to detail
5. What size team were they part of?
Consider the size of the teams the candidate has worked with: small (1-5), medium (6-20), or large (21+). This helps you understand their ability to navigate different team dynamics and their preferred working style.
For instance,
- Small teams → Strong collaboration skills, adaptability, taking on diverse responsibilities
- Medium-sized teams → Navigating group dynamics, specializing in roles, contributing to a shared vision
- Large teams → Coordination skills, effective multi-channel communication
Assessing the unassessable
There is no way to completely avoid a bad hire. That’s an unrealistic goal. But this list has been our go-to tool for years. It's helped us and our clients look past the surface and spot developers who don’t just fill a role but belong to the team.
It helps you understand and predict more objectively who would be a good or a bad fit. By knowing how to read between the lines, you can start to see the full story.
And, that story could be the difference between a good and a bad hire.