When it comes to hiring, great companies place the quality of their hiring as the primary metric by which they succeed or fail. In order to properly judge the quality of candidates offered, they firstly look for a skills match between you and the position they’re trying to fill. Do you have the basic skills on your CV that will indicate a likely match for their requirements or do you present potential learning and development abilities that can be successfully harnessed?
A frequent complaint I hear from candidates is that they’ve submitted their CV for a particular vacancy, but haven’t had a response from the company. I would immediately direct that they should examine the job specification again, checking if the job they applied for is a suitable match for their own skillset. If it’s not, it’s pretty self explanatory why they have not been contacted and most companies will only engage with the candidates who on paper best fit their requirements from the available talent pool.
Secondly great companies are looking for aptitude – evidence of your capabilities that are indicative of future performance. This can be difficult information to glean from a CV and will usually require an interview, whereby the company will set a series of competency based questions designed to tease out situations from your previous roles where you had the greatest impact. A great way of indicating your aptitude for a particular role is to highlight your past achievements, presenting credible examples of your proven track record in a particular field.
Thirdly great companies look for leadership skills. Will you fulfill their current requirements and potentially lead a team down the line? All great companies look at how they can best leverage your current skillset but with future role requirements in mind. The ability to lead, mentor and motivate a team of people is a highly desirable skill set in any industry and candidates that demonstrate this key skill will always be in demand with the best employers.
Fourthly, they look for a good cultural fit. Every company is made up of individuals, all with their own individual career aspirations and goals. What truly separates the great from the good companies is their culture, their own unique identity that marks them apart from the rest and their ability to hire people who will align this. Personality is a key factor in determining your cultural fit and first impressions count. Will your personality suit their existing team or is there likely to be a clash? You may be technically the most competent candidate for the role but if the hiring manager doesn’t see a cultural fit, your chances of being hired diminish.
Finally, great companies want candidates that are career driven, but with realistic expectations and goals. The best candidate for the job will be technically and culturally a fit, but also willing to drive their own career development and create future opportunities simply by putting their hands up when the chance is presented. Perhaps this above everything else is what great companies strive to find when hiring? The best candidate is usually the person with the inner belief, enthusiasm and motivation to fulfill the existing job requirements but who also considers the long term career opportunity more important than the short term rewards.
To ensure that you’re visible with the best employers in the market, why not contact Campbell Rochford today and hear about the fantastic career opportunities our great companies are offering?
Tel: 01-9065116
Email: [email protected]
Campbell Rochford – Turning Good to Great.