9 Soft Skills Interview Questions [+Follow-ups]
Zack Braksa
Head of Developer Relations
In order to work effectively in this environment, it's important for all members of the team to have strong soft skills. These skills can help build and maintain good relationships, and ensure clear communication as well as smooth collaboration.
When hiring software engineers, it's important to evaluate their soft skills in addition to their technical abilities. Soft skills, such as communication, collaboration, and problem-solving, can be just as important as technical expertise when it comes to a software engineer's ability to succeed in their role.
In this article, we will explore 9 interview questions that you may want to use or adapt during your interview process to evaluate soft skills:
1. How did you get started with software engineering?
Objective
- Take note of the different experiences.
- Make sure there aren't any experience gaps and if so ask why.
- Check if the candidate is passionate about what they do.
Follow-up questions
- What did you like and dislike in your last experience?
- What made you choose to join company X?
- What made you leave company X?
- Which experience are you most proud of?
- What work contributions are you most proud of?
2. What would you say your teammates like the most about you? Anything they would dislike?
Objective
- Check self-awareness.
- Get a general sense of the candidate's personality.
Follow-up questions
- Can you give me an example of trait X in action?
- Why do you think people like/dislike trait X?
- What hard skills do you feel you're still missing?
- What soft skills do you feel you need to improve?
- How would you approach improving the skills we just discussed?
3. Can you recall the most positive feedback you got from your colleagues? What about the least positive feedback?
Objective
- Check self-awareness.
- Get a general sense of the candidate's personality.
Follow-up questions
- Can you give me an example of trait X in action?
- Why do you think people like/dislike trait X?
- What hard skills do you feel you're still missing?
- What soft skills do you feel you need to improve?
- How would you approach improving the skills we just discussed?
4. What is one feedback that you received the most?
Objective
- Check self-awareness.
- Get a general sense of the candidate's personality.
Follow-up questions
- Can you give me an example of trait X in action?
- Why do you think people like/dislike trait X?
- What hard skills do you feel you're still missing?
- What soft skills do you feel you need to improve?
- How would you approach improving the skills we just discussed?
5. What is the most constructive feedback you received?
Objective
- Check self-awareness
- Get a general sense of the candidate's personality
Follow-up questions
- Can you give me an example of trait X in action?
- Why do you think people like/dislike trait X?
- What hard skills do you feel you're still missing?
- What soft skills do you feel you need to improve?
- How would you approach improving the skills we just discussed?
6. Can you recall a situation where you took the initiative to complete something even though you weren't asked to?
Objective
- Check ownership and autonomy.
- Understand what the candidate considers as "going above and beyond".
Follow-up questions
- What made you take initiative X? (STAR METHOD, have a clear idea of the situation or task, what action they took, and the result of their action on the team/project/company).
7. Can you think of a situation where you went above and beyond what your manager/supervisor expected from you?
Objective
- Check ownership and autonomy.
- Understand what the candidate considers as "going above and beyond".
Follow-up questions
- What made you take initiative X? (STAR METHOD, have a clear idea of the situation or task, what action they took, and the result of their action on the team/project/company).
8. Do you have prior experience working as part of a distributed team?
Objective
- How well would the candidate collaborate in a distributed team?
Follow-up questions
- What was the most challenging aspect of working remotely?
- How do you make sure you're communicating effectively with teammates?
- Any communication best practices you found useful?
9. What are you looking for in your career opportunity? (team, career growth, technologies ...)
Objective
- Understand their priorities.
- What do they value the most in a work environment?
Follow-up questions
- Why is it so important to have "benefit X" in your next job?
- What aspects of a job would be a dealbreaker?
- What are the must-haves vs. the nice-to-haves?
- What technologies are you most passionate about?
