The hunger to learn and adapt is important

We lines up some of the country’s top hiring executives and find out what they look for while selecting a candidate for a corporate role

Talent spotters now regard potential as one of the key employee attributes for hiring. How do you spot potential and passion during a job interview?

The traditional and obvious indicators of potential are a candidate’s academic record and past successes. Personality traits are strong indicators of key attributes like passion and potential. A discussion reveals their thought process, approach and ethics. Body language, confidence and even voice modulation tell us about what drives them. If a candidate is high on learning, they have potential.

What are some of the other essential attributes you look for in a job applicant?

I look for a combination of three things: Clarity of thought — How a person approaches a problem and how clearly can he/she explain her past work/ achievements/ struggles? The ability to break each into smaller parts while explaining and then building it up as a sum is important.

A strong, functional skill set — What are they bringing in terms of functionality and skills?

Academic and professional Journey — Not as a rejection criterion but as a reflection of choices and influences in their professional life. It is also a benchmark of their performance.

However, I’ve made a gut-based decision in contradiction to this criterion.

What are some of the common issues, which you confront in graduates while hiring?

Despite being bright, graduates lack vision and are impatient. Sometimes the sense of entitlement and disconnect with reality make them set unrealistic goals. They should invest more time in making themselves better suited to the dynamic world.

How crucial is a candidate’s domain knowledge when it comes to hiring and what is your experience on this front from campuses?

When hiring from campus it can be theoretical know-how of subjects. We can’t expect working knowledge from them.

What is the transitional change which a candidate has to be prepared for when entering the job market?

Unlike education, life is not compartmentalised into classes, subjects, exams, ranks etc. Candidates must be prepared that it is not just one exam but an ongoing performance at a functional and team level that matters.

The role of social media in hiring candidates

Social media can work in tandem with traditional hiring practices and not replace them.

How can a candidate make himself/herself valuable in their line of work?

Employees can add tremendous value by impacting the bottom line and by striving to be an irreplaceable spoke in the wheel of an organisation’s success.

How severe can the cost of making mistakes be on a professional level, as opposed to academics, where it can end with a little red circle?

You bear the consequences of academic mistakes but in the professional world, these can cost you, your company and your team members heavily. There is a difference between a mistake and a wrongdoing. Mistakes are pardonable whereas deliberately doing it to hurt the interest of employers is not.

Source: IndiaToday