Hiring, from the job applicant’s eyes, includes several steps. From applying to a job to accepting the offer letter, you go through a series of steps and processes, right?
But what does a hiring manager or recruiter see in a candidate that makes them hire that candidate?
Wondering?
We reached out to some hiring managers and recruiters and asked them one simple question:
What can a job applicant say or do to make you really want to hire them?
And we compiled their answers in this HR roundup post. We believe that this article will help you get hired fast.
Let’s dive right into it…
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1. Tanu Talwar Sahani (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
Recruitment is a tough job. There are thousands of applicants (in a job market), but when you have a limited need, choosing the right person is a task. Being a Talent Acquisition Manager, I consider many factors to choose the right candidate. Here I would like to share some of my ways of getting the right candidate on-board:
Face to Face meet /Finding a Spark: Whenever I make a hiring decision for my business, I prefer to invite the candidate for an interview to assess the candidate deeply and gauge their motivation and future aspirations.
Passion pursuer: A few candidates are passionate about their learning and growth; others are running a rat race i.e., looking for better brands and higher packages. Candidates who prioritize their passion over money are ideal for me. As per my experience, these are the people who make a significant impact on business.
Ability to take risk: While interviewing candidates, I can often figure out when they are in a comfort zone and not ready to take new challenges. For me, even if that candidate does well in the interview they would not be the right choice.
2. Srishti Sharma (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
Recruitment is surely one of the most crucial steps while setting up a company. As a startup co-founder, I strongly believe in the statement – ‘A great team can make an average idea reach miles while the wrong team can harm great ideas.’
Few qualities I look for in candidates while recruiting are as follows:
Their Life Mission: The economics of the job market is stacked in a way that always means the supply of candidates is much higher than the demand for available jobs. It’s extremely important to look for individuals who hold a plan for their personal growth. The intent to contribute to the company should ideally be higher than the hunger for a certain package or salary.
Some characteristics that help screen individuals are:
a) Their punctuality (even on the day of a face-to-face interview)
b) Motivation level, focus level, personal discipline.
c) Their skills beyond their degrees and resume.
3. Krishna Vineela (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
Before you attend an interview, put in your best effort to learn about the firm. Try and understand the firm’s products and services, as well as any latest updates that you can infer from online sources.
Next, understand the role you are applying for — from the company’s perspective. What do they need and why should they hire you? List out various reasons why you are apt for the role that the company is looking for.
Now read them aloud, read them to your friends and family. See if they are convinced about your arguments. Take honest feedback from them and see what you can improve. If your friends and family are convinced, in an honest and non-partisan manner, well, 90% of your job is done.
One of the most important aspects that you can focus on is to show a temperament to learn the skills that are needed for the role. In most cases, the recruiter will only interview you when they see that you have the right skill set and may have performed similar tasks earlier.
In technical and niche roles, skill-sets take prominence. You should be able to show that you have used the same/similar technology in your current or previous projects.
You can talk about your ability to meet deadlines, project releases, technical knowledge (including emerging trends in the tech area), and showcase an inclination as well as an aptitude to learn new technologies.
For non-technical roles that comprise working with people rather than machines, such as sales, operations, customer success, HR, etc., you should be able to show that you are confident and can work well with teams.
To support your argument that you are empathetic and yet, result-oriented, you may want to talk of past situations where you have particularly done well.
4. Umang Shah (Connect with him on LinkedIn)
I look for one thing in a candidate: Is he/she showing their worth and passion?
You get hardly 1 or 2 hours to showcase your talent, and surely this is not enough.
But you should make the most of this time. Make the interviewer feel that you bring something unique to the table.
Applying for a job is nearly the same as selling yourself. While doing sales, you generally talk about USPs. The same should be here. Talk about your USPs and how they can help the organization. Don’t over-exaggerate. But make sure you put your point.
If I feel a candidate is bringing something unique to the table, he or she will surely get hired.
5. Himadri Das (Connect with him on LinkedIn)
The honest intention with the right attitude, coupled with real-life instances of teamwork, leadership, and relevant skills will seal the deal. Also, demonstrated previous performance itself speaks for the candidate.
The cherry on top would be agility, out-of-the-box thinking, and deep insights on market dynamics. A candidate has to be ready for industrial revolution 4.0. Hence, being hands on the latest tech and automation is need of the hour.
6. Rachita Rao (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
Hiring is a responsible and interesting job. We meet an array of candidates with unique personalities each day. The experience remains refreshing and adds to new learning.
It is important to connect with the workplace emotionally and be aware of the company’s work and culture.
Here are the pointers that are part of my basic assessment:
How a candidate thinks: Mindfulness in answering fundamental questions about them. The answers shouldn’t be rehearsed and should lead the interviewer to an open conversation.
What candidate has done or is doing: How positive of an outlook does he portray to the interviewer about his past work experience, workplace and the challenges he has undertaken.
Finally, what is he here for (need): His future outlook and interest level in joining the company. His understanding of his work effort/value towards the company’s revenue generation.
7. Sonam Rara (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
As a hiring manager, I spend significant time in taking interviews with prospective candidates and receive a wide range of interesting and different answers. Every candidate has something unique, and it’s entirely on candidate how he/she showcases his/her uniqueness to a hiring manager.
In an interview, it’s clear that an interviewer seeks confidence and patience in a candidate. Whenever a question is raised, it’s either make it or break it moment for you.
I expect the candidate to be well prepared about the company’s whereabouts; he/she must have done prior research about the company and the job profile. It makes him/her confident while describing why they are the best fit for the role and how their previous experiences can help the company grow.
A candidate must stay focused in an interview and he/she should be able to showcase his importance for the applied role.
8. Mehjabeen Sajid (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
Well, it is not always what a person says to impress but also what he or she does to prove the statement. Since the inception of my career when I started interacting with a large number of people throughout the day, I realized that as HR, we need to identify what exactly we are seeking in a candidate, and what exactly are we hiring him for and what are the results which one is expecting from him/her.
As an HR, it is extremely important to understand an individual’s contribution to the bottom line and what are the alternate capabilities which can be nurtured or even encouraged to accelerate his/her path to success and well–being at the workplace.
While evaluating a candidate for a job role, a candidate needs to keep his body language professional. He/She has to be formally groomed for the interview. He should be honest and be clear with what he/she knows and what he/she can deliver.
The job applicant has to be a team player but has to highlight his major contribution to the overall team’s achievement. The most admired statements I like are the real-life example of overcoming adversity to achieve your milestone. Likewise, having his documents ready for submission when asked for adds value to the process.
I admire candidates who make the best use of their time to enhance their skills, especially when they are on sabbatical. The list does not end here. In today’s tech culture, we have assessments and background verification processes to confirm the credentials.
9. Anjali Suneja (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
Well, a job applicant who knows for which position he is applying and study the job role for which he/she has applied. Who knows the expected roles, responsibilities, and desired skill set for that position. He/she must have done good research about the company and its business.
And should be honest and flexible in his approach. Such applicants are always on the priority list for me.
10. Vikramjit Singh Sahaye (Connect with him on LinkedIn)
I truly believe in the philosophy of “Hire Character, train skills!” More than a candidate’s statement of being a ‘quick learner’, I prefer the ones who explain how they can ‘contribute’ to our goals, after a reasonable bit of research about the role.
Also, in the fast-evolving technology-driven market, a graduation curriculum alone cannot sustain a professional career anymore. That’s why, demonstrating an eagerness to self-learn and finding innovative solutions to problem-solving, differentiates ‘high potentials’ from the ordinary.
Sometimes knowing about a candidate’s personal life goals may also provide an insight on how they plan to shape their career and if the job can provide that vital alignment for greater retention and employee engagement after (s)he joins.
11. Esha Vig (Connect with her on LinkedIn)
Belonging to the HR profession, when I ask this question, ”why should we hire you?”
The answers which I got from the maximum candidates was “we are very Hardworking, dedicated towards our work and know all the skills associated with the role.”
But, I always wonder how this can be an answer to my question. These qualities can’t be analyzed at the time of the interview. Of course, technical skills can be judged as we do have certain assignment rounds and technical rounds.
We expect the candidate to be dynamic and flexible with an approach to join our firm, as we agree that candidates need exposure and growth but, how they are using their talent for companies growth is equivalently important to us.
The answer should be something like, “by being a part of your team we will be indulging ourselves to be creative in our work. We will be bringing new ideas or strategies which can lead to the growth of the whole organization and thus increasing productivity by being open to challenges and new opportunities.”.
Belonging to an HR profession, we always work for acquiring talent for a long term perspective and want the candidate to be dynamic and flexible when becoming a part of an organization for any job profile.
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