Should a candidate’s potential play a key role in talent acquisition?

When we start searching for a new employee, most probably there is a perfect candidate’s profile in our minds. What are the key questions we tend to ask? Do we wonder what knowledge and experience are needed to be successful and effective in the job? One may find it crucial to see whether the candidate will fit into the company’s values and culture. One may look for certain technical or soft skills. One may list all necessary competences considered as critical and nice-to-have for the role. All these points are valid and adequate. What needs to be emphasised is that, as the goal of hiring is to build a long-lasting relationship, we must look ahead in the future and we cannot ignore the importance of candidates’ POTENTIAL.

The potential is not easily defined but it can become all you should focus on, for example, when you deal with positions dedicated to graduates who cannot impress with a long employment history. I spent a few years in GE on the hiring journey with young talents for entry-level leadership development programme and the question how to define the potential was the first challenge I faced.

One of the approaches I definitely found helpful was represented by Claudio Fernández Aráoz who identified a set of the characteristics of the potential:

Motivation- a fierce commitment to excel in the pursuit of unselfish goals;

Curiosity - a penchant for seeking out new experience, knowledge candid feedback and an openness to learning and change;

Insight - the ability to gather and make sense of information that suggests new possibilities;

Engagement - a knack for using emotions and logic to communicate a persuasive vision and connect with people; and

Determination - the wherewithal to fight for difficult goals despite challenges and to bounce back from adversity.

This description of the potential is comprehensive in its simplicity. It brings our attention to the question what energizes an individual, what makes her not to give up and try again. It is an attempt to clarify whether a candidate will be able to understand the world around her, such as a new working environment and all the incentives behind. It allows to verify if there are goals that an individual will try to reach with passion and courage. It helps to challenge creativity and willingness to solve complex problems. Finally, it combines aspects of emotional and intellectual intelligences. What I would recommend further scrutinizing is the social dimension, giving more focus on an individual’s interactions with others, ability to lead and influence.

Having recognised the importance of the identification of a candidate’s potential, I am a big supporter of the critical role that it plays in talent acquisition. This is also why, I incorporated potential validation in the talent acquisition approach that I developed for ammplify’sclients.

REFERENCE:

Fernandez-Araoz, C. (2014), '21st Century Talent Spotting', Harvard Business Review, Jun2014, Vol. 92, Issue 6