Are requirements you can’t measure really job requirements?

It should be easy to decide a job’s requirements, right?. As I review postings, I see a lot of “requirements” that are highly subjective (or even impossible) for candidates – and recruiters –  to determine if a person is going to be a fit. Here are a few examples. 

• Effective verbal and written communication skills

• Resiliency in managing complex challenges

• Significant experience in professional networking with mutually beneficial outcomes

• Sound judgment and decision making

• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work with diverse personality types

• Ability to identify and mitigate project risks and issues

• Exposure to working with executive level stakeholders

Ask yourself and your hiring leaders if these need to be in the job description or can be better assessed through interview questions. Instead of these as requirements and potentially causing candidates to self-select out of the process, provide a view into the role to help candidates assess whether the role is right for them.