The time is serious for Benjamin, young accountant just out of school. After an impeccable academic path, he dreams of getting this post in the Parisian start-up. Suddenly, the job interview takes a destabilizing turn: “Imagine that you are on a desert island, without measuring instrument: what time is it, at the minute near?” No answer.
“Well, do the pear tree on the desk now, which one tests your flexibility and your agility, it is very important at home.” Embarched and engulfed in a brand new, Benjamin fails. “Benjamin Final Test: A Three-Point-Point Shiny Leaf. The responsiveness and adaptation to the intentions of your interlocutors are crucial.”
Here caricatures, the “soft skills” are now in the mouth of all recruiters: more seriously, it’s about relational intelligence, communication capabilities, problem solving. These “soft” (or “soft” skills, literally) are in fact basic behavioral skills or personality traits. It is the know-how that is put forward instead of the know-how, additional source of selection of candidates.
Do not be a robot
Their origin is attributed to the US military, which designated from the 1960s by “Soft Skills” the important skills related to work involving “little or no interaction with machines”. And they were numerous to start with those needed to motivate and manage troops. They come in addition to the “hard skills”, these hard skills that are learned during studies and are measurable with performance indicators or diplomas.
Their very wide field covers what is called “human capital”, these qualities that a priori will never be acquired by the robots, at a time when the technical skills are quickly obsolete. In its “Future of Jobs” report in 2020, the World Economic Forum listed the most sought-after “Soft Skills”: autonomy, flexibility, ability to adapt easily to a team … at Blablacar for example, five skills come out of the lot : “Growth Mindset”, Agility, Leadership, Prioritization of Tasks and Teamwork.
A “critical spirit” is sometimes expected by the employer, but the creativity tests sometimes saw the compatibility tests: in this Start-up post offer Paradox , Under the long list of sweet skills – “You have a strong critical spirit”, “Critical and strategic thinking is encouraged. We question our hypotheses, we are attentive to our bias”, or “obsessed with excellence, You have trouble being satisfied “- there is the course of the recruitment process, which includes a” 60-minute culture maintenance to depart the alignment with our values and culture “.
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