In an ever-evolving tech landscape, hiring the right talent is more complex than ever. It’s no longer enough to assess candidates solely based on current technical skills; companies must also evaluate adaptability—the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn quickly—to ensure that their team remains competitive amidst rapid change.
According to research by Barclays, two-thirds of employers believe adaptability became crucial in the last decade. It’s also one of the key skills outlined by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, alongside science, critical thinking and others.
Despite this, adaptability. Here’s how organizations can strategically future-proof their hiring processes by focusing on adaptability.
Identifying the Need for Adaptability
Tech advancements happen at lightning speed, making it crucial for employees to keep up. Just look at what happened with AI. Three years ago, no one but researchers and Terminator fans paid much attention to it, but now, a whopping 75% of people are using it for work, according to Microsoft.
Not to mention, new tools, languages, and frameworks can rapidly replace current standards, and a rigid workforce will struggle to stay relevant.
That’s why, when hiring, it’s important to identify candidates who show signs of intellectual curiosity, resilience, well-developed critical thinking and the ability to acquire new skills efficiently—traits that signal adaptability. However, this doesn’t mean becoming a master profiler. On the contrary; it’s merely designing the hiring process to lead the right people towards the opening. Let’s start from the beginning–the job ad.
Creating Job Descriptions That Attract Adaptive Candidates
Traditional job descriptions that focus narrowly on specific skills may attract talented specialists but fail to draw in candidates who can pivot quickly as the tech world changes. It’s merely a checklist of knowledge, not practical applications of said knowledge.
To attract adaptable talent, design job postings that highlight the need for learning agility. Instead of listing static skills, emphasize problem-solving, curiosity, and examples of how your organization tackles new challenges.
Consider language like, “Looking for candidates comfortable with ambiguity and eager to learn new technologies.” Likewise, if you’re looking for specific knowledge, don’t beat around the bush, especially if it’s something cutting-edge.
Saying “looking for a candidate with mastery of zero-trust WiFi and 5+ years of experience in wireless security” narrows things down and isolates people who are comfortable with further specializing in this niche.
Moreover, include challenges and projects rather than requirements alone—it’s scientifically proven to get the best out of highly intelligent, adaptable candidates. Why? Well, those who are ready to solve problems rather than tick boxes for required skills are more likely to bring adaptability to the table.
Designing Interviews to Test Flexibility
An interview focused on adaptability differs from a traditional one. Instead of just probing into a candidate’s previous job experiences, include scenario-based questions that test how they’d react to new challenges. Let’s say the interview Questions such as, “Tell me about a time when you had to develop a HIPAA-compliant website and set up the backend,” help interviewers gauge how a candidate approaches new situations and their comfort level with change.
Role-play exercises can also be valuable. Consider setting up a scenario where the candidate must adapt to shifting project requirements. Observe how they handle the ambiguity, and whether they can recalibrate based on new information. Tests like this will reveal candidates who can bring flexibility and creativity into your workforce.
Bonus tip: If a candidate’s achievement in a particular area seems unrealistic, make sure your fictional scenario has elements of an accomplishment from their resume. Do the answers match? If so, it’s more likely they’re not exaggerating. If not, it’s a sign to dig a little deeper.
Leveraging Technical Assessments
While technical skills are still a baseline requirement, the way you test these skills can provide insight into a candidate’s adaptability. Remember, anyone can say anything, the point of contention revolves around whether they can innovate approaches and do so consistently.
A static skills test—e.g., “Write a quicksort algorithm”—only confirms what they already know. Instead, create technical assessments that present candidates with unfamiliar challenges.
This could include asking them to solve problems in a programming language they’re less familiar with or providing access to documentation so they have to research on the fly. In such cases, emphasize the answer doesn’t have to be precise
The goal is to see how they adapt when placed in an environment where not everything is known. Can they learn and solve problems effectively with only limited information? This way, you’re effectively hiring for both competence and learning agility.
Evaluating Past Adaptability
Past behavior often predicts future success. Dive into a candidate’s work history to explore instances where they’ve stepped outside of their comfort zone. Have they pivoted from backend development to learning frontend technologies? Did they work in different domains to gain exposure to varied tech environments? Such breadth indicates an ability to learn quickly, even in unknown territory.
If a candidate is talking about using a QR code generator to increase the number of signups for a fintech app, don’t just nod your head. Ask them about the story behind it, what difficulties they faced during the project and how long they needed to establish them.
Look for experiences that show initiative. That’s why a candidate who pursued online courses, side projects, or proactively learned emerging technologies without direct prompting from their previous employer demonstrates adaptability in a very practical way.
Setting Adaptive Employees Up for Success
Finally, once you’ve hired adaptable talent, it’s crucial to make their experience worth it and keep them engaged. High-adaptability employees are often looking for continuous challenges. Keep their work dynamic; avoid pigeonholing them into repetitive tasks that won’t stretch their abilities. Create pathways for career growth that focus on learning new skill sets, and allow adaptable employees to experiment with different technologies or projects that push the boundaries of their comfort zones.
Provide regular feedback loops and give them autonomy in their roles—people with high adaptability thrive in environments where they can direct their own learning journey and take on roles where they see room for growth. Their voices may not always be the loudest, but you should rely on them if you wish to weather changes successfully.
Conclusion
Hiring adaptable technical talent is essential for any company that wants to thrive in today’s fast-paced technology landscape. If you focus not just on the skills a candidate has today, but also on their capacity to learn and adapt to new challenges, you can future-proof your workforce against inevitable change.
Remember, it’s about making those unique, adaptable candidates comfortable the moment they speak to the recruiter.
With that in mind, job descriptions, interviews, and technical assessments should all be designed to evaluate a candidate’s adaptability. Ultimately, creating a culture that supports ongoing learning will ensure your team can tackle whatever the future brings.
