Each HR specialist knows that finding an ideal candidate might be a true challenge, but modern practices and techniques help to pick up the best employees. What are they? Let me share my secrets of successful hiring and describe the personal traits I’m looking for.

When an HR specialist is looking for new employees, he is being guided by certain requirements that apply to candidates. When hiring for any business, it’s important to pay the utmost attention to a few critical personal qualities. Being an HR specialist in Global Tech Makers, I have a lot of communicative experience and know how hard it can be to find a perfect employee using standard approaches. Today I’d like to share a few rules for hiring truly precious workers based on personal practice and experience.

Typical myths and misbeliefs

Some HR specialists might make typical mistakes when picking up the right candidates:

• They need a know-all person. With the modern tempo of life, knowledge gets irrelevant as quickly as technologies. A person who was competent in his specialization five years ago might appear to be underqualified for the current job. Instead, suggest hiring people who are quick on the uptake. A bit of overall intelligence won’t hurt, as well.  
• The more experience – the better. The number of years spent on work isn’t the ultimate guarantee of professionalism – one can fulfill routine tasks for decades without learning anything new. It would be wiser to look for people who are eager to master new skills.
• Considering the first impression only is another typical mistake, as pointed out by BusinessNewsDaily. Try to make in-depth research of the candidate’s traits, background, and professionalism to see who this person is.

It’s not a good idea to hire people who:

Before you start analyzing a candidate’s professional competence, take a quick look at personal qualities. Speaking about the recruiting in the team of outsourcers, I will never hire people who:

• have no goals
• constantly postpone tasks for tomorrow
• are not able to make decisions fast

That’s crucial for both leaders and their employees. Worthy candidates should be eager to do their best since they set objectives and higher requirements for themselves. The one who isn’t afraid of acting right now reaches better results.

There’s one more strategy helping me to seed out inappropriate candidates (Netflix practices the same approach). I’m asking to ask me a couple of questions – this is how I evaluate motivation.
I’m asking: “What would you do for the business promotion if you were free in your actions? This is how the structure of thoughts might be evaluated.

What about the HR trends 2019?

The Western World starts implementing new HR technologies – practice shows some of them are quite efficient.

For example, Blind Hiring Technology might reduce bias during hiring by 30%. It means people are valued for their professionalism, not appearance, nationality, sex, or age.

Artificial intelligence and business automation tools are here to help. If an HR specialist needs to deal with a huge amount of candidates, AI will help to gather and analyze data, identify patterns, and make informed decisions. I’m convinced that Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) is the future of HR!

Another trend shaping the HR sphere is out staffing e.g. remote hiring and working with dedicated teams. This tendency is getting more popular in both the Western and Eastern worlds. People need freedom and agility, and companies don’t want to lose a perfect employee because of geographical restrictions. Collaboration at distance solves problems of both sides!

5 key traits of a perfect employee

Here’s what really matters when you’re in search of a perfect co-worker for your team:

1. Ambitious workers are happy to do extra work to accomplish an organization’s objectives or advance up the corporate ladder. At the same time, ambitiousness should be balanced with emotional intelligence – a new employee shouldn’t roll over on colleagues.
2. Confidence is one of the keys to success. Extraordinary results originate from individuals who have confidence in their capacities and abilities: they aren’t afraid of difficulties.  
3. Team-oriented workers are more efficient because two heads are better than one. The ability to interact with others and reach goals together is more important than it seems.
4. Reliability is a must for any worker without exceptions. What could be more aggravating than an employee who does not adhere to deadlines?
5. Self-motivation is nothing to sneeze at. Self-managed employees take the load off the boss’ shoulders and contribute to the company more than ones who need constant guidance.

According to the study conducted by CareerBuilder with Harris Poll in 2015, ideal employees should also be flexible and adaptive and stay dependable, e.g. fulfill tasks consistently, one by one.

Those are details that matter

While checking out for the above-mentioned qualities in potential employees, HR specialists shouldn’t ignore meaningful details such as:

1. Appearance. Business is not a fashion contest, but we all want representatives for our company looking neat and tidy, don’t we?
2. Why did the person leave his previous job? It’s okay for people to seek for higher salaries and geographically close workplaces. But what if the candidate was fired for being simply unprofessional and unreliable? Asking for references from the previous employers is highly recommended.
3. Sound health is the guarantee that a person is full of energy to fulfill goals. You won’t have to sign sick leave certificates every month – healthy workers are more reliable. Let’s not forget about stress-resistance – psychological health also matters.

Is it easy to find an ideal employee? No one is perfect – we all have complex personalities. A worthy HR specialist should take all factors into account and be able to find a person with more or less balanced traits.

Summary

Now you’re in the know about modern HR practices, typical HR mistakes, and important personal traits to seek for in candidates. Hopefully, this review may help you select a perfect employee to fit your team and your company.