Accountability – The Difference Between Average and Outstanding

By: Rob Hubert

Today’s IT Job Market has become very competitive between employers The best candidates are receiving multiple offers and are in favorable positions to make a choice. But our clients are not competing for average candidates; they are competing for the best candidates. What’s the difference between the average candidates and the best candidates?

After interviewing hundreds of candidates per year, I feel like I have developed a strong eye for talent. I am now in a position to train our recruiting staff on developing the same eye. It seems that a great deal of my experience has become inherent as a gut feeling. How do I teach a gut feeling? I have worked hard at figuring out how to characterize my experience to our recruiting staff.  It comes down to some simple yet profound concepts. I look for IT Professionals that have Talent, Passion, Aptitude, Desire and Personal Responsibility. We continue to refine and redefine our recruiting and interviewing process to identify outstanding candidates. All of the candidates I work with have these characteristics, but the overriding characteristic that all have is Personal Responsibility. They are able to hold themselves accountable for their own commitments and actions. They keep their word, they do what they say.  If we meet in person, please be prepared to answer the question: How do you hold yourself accountable?

Comments

[Jim Durbin]

I'm with you on the gut instinct. Looking at tens of thousands of resumes is a great way to understand what people are trying to communicate - and after a while, you start to quickly group people into the type of school, the type of work, and even a salary range they would accept based on their resume.

Meeting in person does the same thing. What's unique is the idea of actually interviewing a candidate and asking them a question they can't easily duck or deflect.

Are you accountable? I like it.