Identifying Growth Potential During Recruitment
As a forward-thinking employer, you don’t just want to hire someone who can fill a position right now. You want a candidate with the potential to grow with your company.
Training new employees is a significant investment — both in time and money. Therefore, it’s important to factor growth potential into your hiring process, because long-term employees are an invaluable asset to your company. Not only is hiring expensive, but people also take knowledge with them when they leave that is impossible to duplicate.
Use these tips to gauge a candidate’s growth potential during the interview process.
Take Note of the Questions Asked
You’re the interviewer, but that doesn’t mean you should be the only one asking intelligent questions. Pay close attention to the questions a candidate asks during the interview because they offer clues about their growth potential.
Feel confident that someone who asks impressive, well-thought questions about both the company and the position plans to stick around for the long-term. However, if the person is more focused on tangible benefits, they’re probably not there for the right reasons.
Seek Confidence
Confident candidates know who they are and what they believe in. These people have a plan for their future, and they wouldn’t be at the interview if both the job and your company didn’t align with it. Employees with confidence have serious growth potential because they feel like they can achieve anything they set their minds to. This is important because it’s hard for people who don’t believe in themselves to move forward.
Assess Passion
You need someone who views the job with excitement — not as just a way to earn a living. Passionate candidates have serious growth potential because there’s nowhere else they’d rather be. Gauge their hunger for the work by paying close attention to the level of emotion and enthusiasm they display when answering your questions. This will help you determine whether they’re interested in the right reasons.
Inquire on Past Behaviors
A look into the candidate’s past can be very telling. Dig deep to learn more about the growth they’ve had at their current and previous jobs. For example, asking about situations that required them to be flexible and ways they’ve improved processes offers a glimpse at their ability to shift gears and move forward.
Find Out What They Do in Their Free Time
A candidate’s extracurricular activities can offer telling clues on their growth potential at work. For example, someone who runs marathons likes to challenge themselves, and someone who enjoys taking on new hobbies obviously has a thirst for knowledge.
The activities themselves don’t matter, it’s their desire to learn and grow as a person that means something. Be wary of candidates who don’t seem to have any interests outside of work, as they might be just as stagnant in the office.
Choosing the right person for the job is essential to the success of your team. To learn more about how we can help you find top behavioral health talent, contact us today at (513) 651-9500 or by email at [email protected].
