Working in recruitment has taught me how to appreciate people’s skills and talents within different positions, industries and sectors. One can communicate on so many different levels that in today’s fast life people can unfortunately be taken for granted, hence finding obstacles to move on. Meeting the right people for the right job could turn out to be a missed opportunity and this could pretty much mean the other way round too.
Thorough research is carried out when identifying good potential, together with combined networking and vast experience within the field.
We proactively contact candidates and discuss their interest in various positions. We then meet those who are both qualified and interested and evaluate their qualifications skills set and experience accordingly.
Sourcing highly driven candidates can be very thorough. However, through a few steps one can gauge positive and highly-driven attitudes.
One would think that people can do anything if they put their mind to it, while always being very positive in personality, style and approach to work. Candidates need to have a certain amount of self-awareness, understanding what their strengths and weaknesses are and realising that not all possibilities are for them.
One must recognise what they are good at and try harder than everyone else to be successful towards certain goals. This is where we come in and advise on what steps should be taken, providing guidance all the way.
Being action-oriented tends to keep an individual from moving forward. Being too action-oriented can sometimes cause unnecessary mistakes or poor decisions. However, on a positive note, being resilient and highly motivated, these people tend to take rejection and failure better and move on quickly.
High-potential individuals show an intellectual ability to deal with complex situations and challenges. Being emotionally intelligent and resilient, they tend to excel and achieve results and want to advance in their career, taking on more leadership roles while being active in pursuing development and skills to the next level.
These individuals are usually those who are engaged and look forward to a long and successful career within an organisation.
A highly motivated candidate would do whatever is needed, keeps moving forward and learns from mistakes
Talent development is crucial for an employer. At the highest level, it seems that the greatest difference between highly motivated and high-potential candidates is that the high-potential leader will make fewer business mistakes.
A highly motivated candidate would do whatever is needed, keeps moving forward, learns from mistakes and moves on in a positive way. A high-potential candidate is very smart and motivated and goes in for a job with a long-term attitude. Their development paths are seen somewhat differently by an organisation.
The challenge is to identify these future leaders. Where do we find such candidates? It’s imperative to understand that looking at candidates and employees’ capabilities will only get you to a certain stage. A person’s capabilities can only be defined as their knowledge and skills are developed over time and therefore acquired through learning and experience.
On the other hand, the definition of high potential may vary from one company to another, but performance is always defined by business results together with the behaviour needed to achieve.
When achieving results, it is important that the high-potential individual is recognised. Transparency benefits the employer, the company and the individual who is likely to be more engaged and willing to learn and develop further, while looking at long-term employment within that company.
It is not only important to hire the best but also to grow and retain such individuals. Investing in training and advertising such benefits offered to successful candidates will also be significant in acquiring the most ambitious individuals.
Cultural fit is also a key factor for an individual who decides to stay on with a company or move on to better opportunities. Candidates ultimately want to know what it’s truly like to work for an organisation.
A stumbling block for candidates could be understanding a company’s culture. A company can create platforms through which candidates can have their questions answered. This exercise could foster more interest and knowledge.
When sourcing and screening candidates, it is important for a company to keep in mind that such profiles can add the most value. Finally, remuneration cannot be overlooked. As the job market strengthens, employers must be prepared to pay more for candidates, not necessarily in terms of salary, but additional benefits too.
Understanding our business needs with foresight will help us identify the right potential in candidates within a dedicated time frame – which is owed to ourselves and to our future talent.
jobs@vacancycentre.com
Sarah Miceli is a team leader at VacancyCentre