Whether choosing what to have for dinner or shopping for a pair of jeans, we tend to know what we don’t want rather than what we do want. The same goes for recruiting. It’s so easy to spot a candidate’s red flags that we get tunnel vision and only look for what’s wrong, overlooking candidates’ green flags.
When working with a recruitment agency, we pre-screen candidates to ensure you don’t have to always be on high alert for red flags. But you still have to make the final call when hiring. Many candidates can appear qualified, but how do you know if you found the one?
6 signs you found the right candidate
- Well-prepared and inquisitive
- Ready to contribute
- Clear communication
- Perfectly imperfect
- Enthusiasm
- The interview just flows
Well-prepared and inquisitive
A well-prepared candidate who has researched the company and the job tends to make high-quality hires. These candidates do their research not because it’s good practice but because they’re genuinely excited about the company. The right candidate will have done their due diligence by reading the website, blogs and additional Google searches.
Not only do you want someone who knows their stuff, but they should also thirst for more knowledge. A top candidate is eager to learn more about your company and its services. Prepared and inquisitive candidates are self-directed and typically make better cultural fits aligning with the company’s mission and core values.
Ready to contribute
A good candidate has a history of success, but a great candidate will also come forward with new ideas. Look for candidates with plans and goals for what they want to accomplish in this new role. Coming prepared with concrete plans demonstrates a candidate who thoroughly understands the position. These kinds of individuals are ready to get started as soon as possible. The ideas and skills they bring should fill a gap within the organization. The right candidate should feel like when you finally find that missing piece of a puzzle.
Clear communication
One of the most time-consuming aspects of recruiting is coordinating. Depending on your hiring process and amount of applicants, scheduling phone screenings, interviews, technical assessments, and more can feel insufferable when candidates are slow to respond. Candidates who drag their feet to respond probably aren’t that interested and are looking for any opportunity that comes up. On the other hand, candidates who consistently engage in active and polite communication are strong contenders. Their clear communication is a great predictor of a responsive and vigilant employee.
Perfectly imperfect
The candidates you should watch out for are the ones who fail to admit to their shortcomings or are unsure of how to improve on them. No one’s perfect. And the right candidate isn’t perfect either. While some weaknesses can be detrimental to the job, no candidate will be free of downfalls. However, the right candidate will be open and honest about their flaws.
It seems counterintuitive to want flaws, but candidates who can own their weaknesses are self-aware – a good sign of an emotionally intelligent employee. So next time you ask, “What’s your biggest weakness?” remember to embrace imperfection!
Enthusiastic
Anyone can enter an interview and say how excited they are about a job. But do they really mean it? After all, it’s not about what you say but how you say it. With the right candidate, you’ll feel their excitement oozing. You should be able to not only hear their excitement but see it in their body language.
These candidates make for invested employees who care about their work and will stick around for the long haul. This overall enthusiasm demonstrates their strong interest in their field. You should look for interest in the current role and assess how they talk about their previous work. Do they take pride in it?
The interview just flows
With the right candidate, the interview should feel effortless, like time is flying. The interview could take an hour, yet it only felt like 20 minutes. While you want your candidates to answer your questions, they should also drive some of the discussion, creating an organic back-and-forth.
The interview should feel like a conversation and not an interrogation. When you meet the right candidate, it should feel like you two just ‘click.’ If you end the interview feeling excited about working with this person, you probably found the one.
The Best IT Recruitment Agency in Toronto | About Live Assets | IT Staffing Solutions
Live Assets is a boutique IT Staffing/Recruiting firm specializing exclusively in building IT teams of excellence for the Information Technology sector.
We are a small, but productive team that works closely together and has had a 96% success rate for the past number of years!
We have a diverse number of clients and industries and focus on both full-time and contract I.T. opportunities.
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