America’s Got Talent, But Are You Finding It For Your Job Openings?
Posted on Wed, Aug 04, 2010
By Koleen Singerline
If you’ve posted any kind of employment opportunity lately, you’ve probably received an average of two hundred resumes from eager job seekers. According to The Economist, “A year into the recovery, there are still nearly five workers for every new job opening.”
From an employer’s point of view, it seems that between the unemployed, underemployed and the disengaged, there are so many choices when filling a position. It’s almost like being a kid in a candy shop – it’s hard to make up your mind. However, as staffing professionals who focus on employment for a living, we still contend that the search for the right fit remains as much of a challenge as it has always been. At Snelling, we believe that are two key things to look at when looking for key talent: a person with the right core values and someone with a personality that fits into your business culture. You can teach someone skills, but you can’t teach them core values – they’re going to have to come with that.
I’ll give you a real life example. One of the individuals I recently qualified for a client clearly demonstrated her core values. She had spent nearly a year looking for work, but during that year she did two key things:
1. She took courses in her field of work. That shows me that after 20 years of experience in the same industry, she still has a passion for what she does. It also proves that she is always looking for ways to improve her skills. Her actions spoke louder than her words – she loves what she does.
2. She volunteered for a hospice program. Despite the financial hardship and emotional distress that being out of work caused her, she looked around for someone less fortunate than her and found a way to help. When I asked her, “What have you learned from your volunteer work at the hospice that might help you in your career?” She replied, “I’m spending several afternoons a week with a 53 year old man. He has very little time to live and yet he still shows a great passion for life and has a wonderful sense of humor. He’s focused on the people around him and what they need. It makes you very grateful for what you have.”
For the record, neither one of these facts were part of her resume. In fact, her resume looked like most of the others I reviewed for the position. It took some digging to find the qualities that make her a good person to have on a team.
That mound of resumes you receive represents a lot of people – some are losers and some are diamonds. Asking the right questions can help you understand what lies at the heart of an individual and give you a good idea of what they will bring to your company. None of us want to end up like the disappointed employer who exclaimed to his new employee, “I hired your resume, but unfortunately you showed up!”