COVID has put a new focus on adaptability as a key skill for success in the workplace. In fact, a recent June 2020 pulse survey by the Australian HR Institute placed agility, flexibility and resilience as three key skill areas that will need to be developed in their workforce post-COVID. Equally a LinkedIn research study in 2016 stated that 60% of hiring managers in their survey identified adaptability as the top soft skill they assess for.
Why test candidates’ adaptability skills in interviews
Companies often need to change to meet new demands. Good companies have employees who swiftly adapt to industry, market and technology changes.
Employees with the skills to adapt to change ultimately help companies grow. These employees:
The following questions will help you evaluate how candidates:
Why the interviewer is asking adaptability questions
Adaptability is one of the most important skills that employees should possess. People who are adaptable easier accept new ways of working and changing team environments. Also, when uncertain situations occur, they can come up with effective solutions to work towards their goals. Furthermore, people who are adaptable are more likely to stay calm under pressure and work their way through dynamic work environments.
Interviewers ask certain questions to assess your adaptability skills. Through these interview questions, they want to find out how you react in unpredictable work situations but also if and how you adjust to changing environments at work. For instance, when a new system, software, or other technology is introduced. Furthermore, interviewers want to know how you take on new tasks even if these are not part of your job description. By asking certain behavioral questions, interviewers try to assess which candidates are more qualified than others.
Behavioral interview questions about adaptability are, as said, quite typical in a job interview. These type of interview questions focuses on your past behavior in professional work settings. The reason for asking behavioral job interview questions instead of just asking traditional ones is that the most accurate predictor of future performance is your past performance in similar situations.
During your job interview, the interviewer wants to discuss previous work situations and wants you to elaborate on them. This is also the reason that you should prepare your examples before the interview. Ensure that you provide the interviewer with the situation you were in, your task in that situation, the action you took, and the specific results that can come out of those actions. In short, this is called the STAR method of providing an answer. The STAR method is discussed in more detail later on in this article.
Please, Describe Your Approach to Adopting a New Process or Software Product.
This question is intended to determine whether or not you are systematic in your approach to learning new things. Some might be also asking this to understand what type of learner are you — visual, audial, hands-on, etc.
Your answer can go like this: