Finding Competent Staff, What Makes a Competent Candidate

The hiring decisions that you make will have a profound effect on the ongoing success of your organisation. Therefore, taking the time to unearth the very best candidates in today’s talent pool is highly recommended. This will help you to create a workforce willing, ready, and able to take your company to the next level.

Making quality hiring decisions on a consistent basis is by no means an easy endeavor; it requires focus, patience, and a lot of due diligence. Fortunately, advice on how to successfully undertake this all-important challenge can be found below.

What makes a competent candidate? How do you pinpoint competent staff members? Read on to find out.

Finding competent staff members

Unless you’re incredibly lucky, you aren’t going to stumble across the perfect employee by chance. If you’re serious about unearthing undeniable competency in your job candidates and hire new staff members, you are advised to operate in a strategic manner.

Your ability to strategically unearth competent employees will be impacted heavily by the job openings that you post online. First and foremost, in this instance, contrary to popular belief, you might want to consider steering clear of the leading employment platforms. Sites such as Monster and Indeed may help you to spread the word about your openings far and wide, but they won’t necessarily aid you in your bid to reach and engage the right people. By attempting to appeal to the masses in this sense, you could very well find yourself sacrificing quality and relevancy in your candidate search. It is for this reason that you are advised to use niche employment websites that cater directly to your industry, as this will help you to forge a deeper and more direct connection with your target candidate audience.

What makes a competent candidate?

The specific service that your company provides should be at the forefront of your thinking throughout the duration of your hiring process. At the end of the day, you need to fill your workforce with proficient employees capable of performing the exact tasks that are asked of them. By tailoring your candidacy specifications around your unique service requirements, you will be much more likely to find workers capable of actively moving the needle within your niche industry.

Sector-specific attributes should not, however, be the be-all and end-all of your candidate sourcing endeavor. The individual traits of the people that you interview should also be taken into consideration simply because these talents will go a long way in showcasing their ongoing stability, sustainability, and suitability to the job role.

Here are ten candidate traits you should pay close attention to:

1. Positivity
2. A willingness to collaborate with others
3. Self-motivation
4. A strong work ethic
5. Dependability
6. A detailed-oriented mindset
7. Excellent communication skills
8. Adaptability/flexibility
9. Confidence
10. Honesty

If a candidate can showcase all of these traits and communicate them clearly during the interview process, the chances of them being a competent worker will be incredibly high.

Points for extra credit

Keeping an eye out for the general attributes listed above is crucial; there’s no denying that. These talents should not, however, be the sole driving force behind your hiring decisions. In order to unearth truly special staff members, it’s recommended that you delve a little a bit deeper in your search for unbridled candidate competency. Some of the people that you interview will go above and beyond to stand out from the crowd; all you have to do is take note of their efforts and, in turn, give them the extra credit they deserve.

Points for extra credit can be attributed for a number of different reasons during the hiring process. A candidate could, for example, hand you their own personal occupation credentials card once your one-to-one interview with them has concluded. This subtle yet effective gesture will showcase not only the candidate’s professionalism but also his or her desire to be taken seriously within the world of business.

Extra credit should also be given to a candidate if they take the time to research your company. Going out of their way to perform this important task will demonstrate the true extent of their interest in your job opening.

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Measuring competency

You’re never truly going to unearth a competent job candidate until you put their competency to the test. Here are three ways you can measure this all-important attribute during your hiring process:

1. Request detailed feedback from the candidate’s previous employer regarding their overall work performance (ask to see annual appraisals and analysis of Key Performance Indicators)
2. Set up multiple face-to-face meetings with the candidate (workshops, office tours, interviews, etc.) before deciding whether you wish to hire them or not, as this will provide you with a better idea of what type of person they are
3. Conduct a competency-based assessment tailored around your exact industry specifications

You simply cannot afford to waste your time, effort, money, or resources on staff members that have no intention of operating in a competent manner. Unearthing competency during the hiring process is, then, of the utmost importance. This will save you a lot of time going forward – time that can then be invested back into the ongoing growth of your business.

Heed the information, advice, and guidance listed above, and make sure you make a conscious effort to find and hire competent job candidates going forward.