If you are a recruiter or a human resources manager, you probably deal with hundreds of resumes to look at, when choosing the right candidate for the job opening. While the resumes or CVs give an overall idea about the candidate’s educational background, skills and work experience, they do not always tell the truth.
There are factors way more essential than looking at resumes in order to hire the right people. Unlike the ordinary resume and cover letter combination, these factors will go deep into the candidate’s profile and show you the real truth behind the scene.
Let’s see what these attributes are:
Candidate’s interests and hobbies
Whenever you choose a candidate for your next job opening, one of the essential tricks is to ask the candidate about their hobbies and interests outside of work. Knowing one’s hobbies is crucial when defining someone’s character and his true nature. While the person’s skills are highly-important when it comes to the job market, hobbies and interests will point you out at the candidate’s real passions and aspirations.
Why is it important? Well, by knowing what a person is passionate about, you will know which field he or she will work harder on. If someone is not passionate about his work, then he will not invest enough energy on it. In the contrary, if you are passionate about your work field, it will magnify the outcome of your work.
Psychological test
Include a psychological test or a questionnaire in the hiring process. For example, you may attach a personality test in the job application guidelines. Firstly, this kind of tactic will ignite the interest of the candidates towards your Company.
Furthermore, the answers from the questionnaire will reveal certain psychological traits of the person. For instance, it might demonstrate the candidate’s will, his/her priorities, the ability to stay calm in stressful situations or the ability to deal with certain issues arisen at work, and so on.
Physical accuracy of the candidate.
If someone is accurate and takes good care of his/her own appearance, he will pay more attention to every single detail of the work he is doing. Furthermore, it is a valuable asset for your Company to have a presentable employee who will attract potential clients and partners. This aspect is especially important to take into account if you are hiring someone for a customer relations position. How can you check if the candidate is neat and tidy?
That comes from the initial phase of the hiring process. In the job description and application guidelines, clearly, mention that you require a professional photo of the candidate attached to other application documents. You can also ask for the candidate’s LinkedIn or other professional profile to be included, which will also show the level of physical accuracy of the candidate.
Interview in a non-formal setting
If you already went through the first part of the hiring process and had anyway a look at resumes, now it’s the time to conduct the interviews. Nowadays, more and more recruiters (especially Europeans) select a non-formal atmosphere for a job interview.
Have you ever been in a job interview? Then you might know that official work settings create tension and complicate the interview process even more. In contrast, a relaxing atmosphere may help someone open up easier and present his/her personality in a more honest and quiet way.
Charming Smile and Sparkling Eyes
Instead of looking at one’s Resume, look for person’s smile and a sparkle in the eyes. A smile is worth a thousand words that will show a person’s willingness to contribute to the work. While in the eyes, you will see how enthusiastic and motivated the person is. In every human interaction, be it a business conversation or a friendly talk, nothing is more inviting than an open-hearted person reflected in a charming smile.
The fact that someone is attractive as an employee for your customers and partners is way more valuable than someone’s knowledge of languages and computer skills added to the cold-heartedness of the same person. If you compare these things (Resume and a smile/sparkle in the eyes or else one’s amiability) you will see a dramatic difference in the hiring process and its outcome.
As you may see, in this increasingly changing and digitalizing world, human intangible values are still appreciated in different areas of life, including multiple work settings. While the educational background and work experience may contribute to the quality of one’s job, what can make a real difference are the deeply-rooted human qualities able to leave a lasting impression on people’s lives.
So take a breath, open your eyes and heart and explore deeper what lies behind one’s soul, instead of scanning the digitally-polished and crafted resumes.
