5 minute read
Big Potential, Broken Promises: 4 Candidates You Shouldn't Fall For
In an ultra-tight job market, the competition for talent is fierce. Candidates with strong credentials and enviable experience know they have options. To get their attention, recruiters find themselves plying promising candidates with bonuses, extra vacation days, and perks ranging from free cappuccinos to pet pods.
However, as they rush to hire top talent before their competitors can, some recruiters are led astray. In an effort to find a plum candidate to fill the void and make a real impact, some pros are getting distracted by "promise."
Advertisement
These candidates could be great performers — but something is always holding them back. Whether it's a poorly run company or bad blood with their former boss, this candidate always has a reason to explain why they haven't reached their full potential just yet.
Talent may be scarce, but your company doesn't have to take a chance on these candidates in the hope that this time will be different. Here are four kinds of candidates who look like they could be great, but are probably worth passing on.
1. The Chatty Cathys
Camaraderie is great. In fact, Gallup has found that having a best friend at work significantly increases an employee's engagement. Employees who've found kindred spirits at the office are more likely to stick around and dig in for tough work because they feel supported and seen.
On the flip side, workers who spend too much time socializing not only hamper their own productivity, but everyone else's, too. Brainstorming sessions and problem-solving huddles can quickly become lengthy, tangent-filled meetings that result in no action steps when these employees are around. They're also prone to gossip, which can really hurt morale. Do you want to lose top-tier employees thanks to office talk?
How to spot them: During interviews, note whether a candidate lingers too long on their own experiences or viewpoints. Do they miss social cues meant to hint they've talked too long without letting anyone else speak? Do they have to stop at each person's desk to say goodbye on their way out? These are signs a candidate may have issues with boundaries.
2. The Hole Dwellers
Every company needs detail-oriented people on staff. On an episode of the Freakonomics Radio podcast, Stanford economics professor Nicholas Bloom even called attention to detail the most "critically important" trait of every successful CEO. An organization needs a big-picture view of what it can accomplish, but it also needs people with an eye for detail to carry out that grand plan successfully. These eagle eyes figure out loopholes, catch overlaps, and streamline processes. They're the reason you avoid billing errors and embarrassing typos.
But there's another type of detail-fixated person who can be your undoing: the Hole Dwellers. These workers haven't met a rabbit hole they wouldn't dive down. Rather than being detail-oriented, they're easily sidetracked, prone to spending too much time on certain tasks or in long meetings — to the detriment of the project overall. Ideally, you want employees who pay attention to detail but also understand the value of their time.
How to spot them: Hole Dwellers aren't shy about their viewpoints. They'll answer your interview questions in ways that highlight their thought processes: "I spent three days rerunning the numbers and provided them to the 10th decimal to my boss — well, really, it was to the 20th, but he told me he didn't need to see the rest — and I found errors that cost us $25.61!"
3. The Yeah, Buts
If there's one thing your company needs — regardless of your industry — it's people who can think critically. When a problem-solver spots an obstacle, they don't think it's the end of the conversation. Instead, they look for ways over, around, or through the problem. This is how every innovative company does something new.
It's also how businesses keep people working together for extended periods of time: If employees don't feel their coworkers have their backs, they eventually lose motivation and check out. Your biggest enemy can be the employee who, when confronted with a problem, plays devil's advocate instead of looking for a fix.
These people look like they're catching problems before they happen, but their constant complaints will inevitably make teammates feel there's not an excuse a Yeah, But wouldn't use. Their teammates will find ways to avoid them — or avoid doing anything that will garner the Yeah, But's pushback. That's bad for your company's longevity.
How to spot them: When you ask experiential questions, focus on the candidate's perspective. Do they explain how they thought about the problem in front of them and approached solving it? Or do they spend a substantial amount of time talking about how much energy the issue sucked out of them? Many negative people who refuse to engage in critical thinking will out themselves during interviews simply by complaining.
4. The Confident Chokers
Faking it 'till you make it isn't always a bad idea. As Amy Cuddy's famous 2012 TED Talk explained, adopting a "power pose" can make people feel more capable, influencing their behavior accordingly. The resulting confidence is irresistible in salespeople, leaders, and others in positions of influence. People are attracted to people who seem to have it all together — or at least have it more together than they do.
What happens, however, when that confidence is misplaced? The opposite of employees who suffer from impostor syndrome, Confident Chokers will continue throwing snappy phrases at people while the company burns down around them. With these employees, showy distractions and surface-level arguments replace real substance. When that house of cards falls down, there's no stopping it.
How to spot them: When someone's just too good to be true in an interview, dig deeper. Do they focus on what their team did instead of what they, specifically, did? Some "we" talk is good because it shows teamwork, but too much may signal a lack of expertise. Ask for details of and insights into the approaches they took. Ask about situations they've had to rebound from. Nudge for more information about why they left their previous job. Does "boredom" really refer to bridges burned?
Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but no matter how tight the job market is, your company should steer clear of these four kinds of candidates.
While they may have some benefits to offer, the disadvantages simply aren't worth it. After all, you don't want to lose the great employees you already have because you brought a bad hire on board.
Sofia Hernandez has been a senior HR executive at multiple Fortune 500 companies.
