Experts posit that jobs of the future will include roles such as neuro-implant technician, 3-D printer design specialist, and virtual reality experience designer. While it may be hard to imagine a time when such positions will be part of the regular employment landscape, not long ago, jobs such as iOS and Android developer or chief happiness officer didn’t exist.

Candidates looking to make a leap into an emerging role need to shore up related skills, think about reinvention, and perhaps focus on an organization focused on social good to boost their portfolio and work with a purpose. For recruiters hiring for emerging roles, it’s a bit trickier, according to the experts at Caliper, a talent-assessment firm that uses data to map the strengths and weaknesses of managers and employees.

These jobs are gaining traction because they are data driven: In an age where Big Data is more than a buzzword, it’s embedded in almost every business. But the jobs are more than the sum of numbers and analysis. The best candidates will have an equal supply of facility to analyze data and the soft skills that constitute creative approaches to collaboration and problem solving.

Thomas Schoenfelder, Caliper’s senior vice president of research and development, says that there are several ways for hiring managers to assess the applicant’s skill with data analysis.

Shoenfelder recommends asking the candidate about a problem they had to solve. He suggests qualifying it as one that they were not provided with much information to inform the decision, and asking first how they went about identifying and gathering the correct data.

The candidate should be able to detail the process they used for analyzing the facts, and what criteria they used to base their conclusions.

The line of questioning shouldn’t end there. Schoenfelder also advises taking a slightly different tactic that includes asking about an experience where data had to be analyzed in order to make a decision. What process the candidate used to ensure the conclusion was sound, as well as the end result, offers another look into the interviewee’s reasoning and experience. So does asking them to describe a situation that called for careful consideration to ensure the conclusion drawn was correct. “What were the stakes involved, and what sort of due diligence did you perform?” Schoenfelder asks.