I'm not so ready to place academic institutions into the blame loop when it comes to soft skills, taimur_tz.

Not that they couldn't take a more active role in educating them.  Still, it seems difficult to me to teach them in an academic setting.  I think they beg for OJT.

"All too often I feel like employers focus in on very specific technical skills when in reality it needs to be more about how well a candidate can fit into an organization"

@dcawrey: I think the responsibility also lies on the technical universities and colleges that they equip the graduates with enough soft skills that are required in the market alongside their technical skills. A holistic development is very important. 

"This is an important subject.  But if IT departments are looking for soft skills, I certainly haven't seen anyone checking candidates for them."

@robjvargas: I'm a little surprised to hear that. All the interviews I have been through had a portion related to soft skills and there was considerable weightage for it. I guess it really varies from organization to organization. Some companies may have a high technical focus and would ignore soft skills completely.

"Rapid change in the technology industry means that specific skills are less important than the ability to learn and work in a business environment."

@Michael: An apt way of saying this can be that the skill of being able to learn new skills is most valuable amongst all the skills you posses.

Current students aren't considered unemployed, are they?  While I understand the benefits to companies for hiring students straight out of school, I'm not clear on how this will help the 10 million currently unemployed. 

Kim, soft skills are not specific to IT, so I would think HR would interview people for their ability to communicate well with others, have great follow up skills, collaborate on teams, etc.  IT positions are so tech-specific that it must be a challenge to find someone with basic social and business skills combined with current technical skills.

It was good to read and I hope it serves as a model to other companies. It's always great to hear about organizations working together to proactively resolve one problem in a way that solves another problem, too. 

And how can HR improve that, building on @Kim's question? Is the answer to have an HR person who specializes in IT so he/she has a better understanding of the role beyond certifications and test scores? Every CIO and IT manager discusses the importance of people skills in advancing your IT career, of knowing 'business speak' as well as techno-talk, so you'd imagine that someone who interacts well with HR is off to a good start. After all, one day HR could be the new IT hire's customer. 

Rob, is that partly a function of the backgrounds of people doing the interviewing.  I can imagine HR having a shaky grasp on what soft skills would be in an IT recruit.

Mitch:

The social network also needs critical problem solving skills; because the company is breaking new technology ground, employees can't count on looking up answers to questions on the Internet. Equally important, IT employees need to be generalists, with soft skills, including the ability to tell stories that get other people passionate about working in teams.

Could someone please tell HR about this?  In three years of a handful of interviews, I have NEVER been asked a question about my soft skills.  I even refer to them in my cover letter.

This is an important subject.  But if IT departments are looking for soft skills, I certainly haven't seen anyone checking candidates for them.