How to recognize a good candidate?
Recognizing a good candidate is an essential step in the recruitment process for a company. This task, although demanding, requires real preparation, as it determines the effectiveness of the recruitment and integration of a future colleague. It's not just about selecting someone who checks the right technical boxes, but about creating the conditions to find a profile capable of work in harmony with the team in place.
The “right choice” is not limited to meeting professional criteria. It also includes a personal presentation consistent with the company culture, as well as a certain human asset that is often overlooked in traditional approaches. New tools, sometimes free of charge, such as online tests or assessment software, can help refine the selection, especially before interviews.
In this article, we are going to detail the key steps to recruit effectively. You will find a list of concrete tips that could help you identify the ideal candidate, with particular attention paid to the final phase of the process.
Define objectively what a “good candidate” is
A good candidate for whom, for what?
The definition of a “good candidate” varies significantly depending on the sector of work, the culture of the company and the missions expected. Each company has its own values, goals and a unique working environment, which means that the ideal profile must be adapted to these specificities.
Take the case of a company operating in a highly technological sector: it may favor advanced technical skills, while a company oriented to customer service will value communication and customer relationship skills more.
Corporate culture also plays a decisive role. A candidate who is perfectly suited to an innovative and dynamic company may not be suitable for a more traditional and hierarchical organization.
It is therefore essential to personalize the candidate profile according to the vision and specific objectives of the hiring.
Distinguishing the right candidate from the right collaborator
It is essential to differentiate between the qualifications required at entry and those that will be developed once the candidate is onboarded. A good candidate does not necessarily have all the technical or behavioral skills from the start, but must demonstrate an aptitude of learning and development. Initial skills, often referred to as “hard skills”, are measurable and acquired through training or professional experience.
On the other hand, the skills to be developed in the position, including “soft skills” such as motivation, adaptability and team spirit, are fundamental to guarantee the long-term success of the candidate in the company.
Align internally with assessment criteria
To objectively define what a “good candidate” is, it is essential to align yourself internally with the selection criteria. This involves defining the need for hard skills and soft skills necessary for the position. This will make it possible to select the right profile during the final choice.
Hard skills are generally sector and role specific, while soft skills, such as communication, resilience, and the ability to work in a team, are essential for successful integration into the team and corporate culture.
Corporate values should also be taken into account. A candidate sharing the same moral principles as the company will be more likely to integrate sustainably and contribute to its success.
Defining these criteria is a crucial step, which must be based on a solid foundation and built through collaboration involving managers, HR employees and key stakeholders. This ensures that all aspects of the position and the company are well represented and that an optimal match between the job description and the profile sought is optimal.
Identify tangible signals during the recruitment process
On the resume: identify weak signals
Analyzing a quality candidate's resume is an essential step in detecting weak signals that could indicate problems. It is important to check the consistency of the professional career, the stability of previous jobs and the diversity of experiences. For example, a candidate who has held short-term positions and changed employers frequently may reflect instability or difficulty integrating into a team.
The mention of concrete results and measurable achievements in previous positions is also a valuable indicator of the candidate's ability to generate value for the company.
Finally, it is essential to identify gaps or inconsistencies in the resume, such as unexplained periods of time or vague descriptions of responsibilities. These elements deserve to be explored in more detail during interviews.
In pre-selection: the quality of remote exchanges
During the pre-selection phase, the quality of remote interactions with the candidate offers significant clues about his responsiveness, his clarity of communication and his tone. A candidate who answers quickly, clearly and in a personalized manner demonstrates good organization and a desire to communicate effectively. Conversely, late, imprecise, or impersonal answers can signal a lack of interest or professionalism.
The tone of the responses should also be monitored. A positive, professional tone is generally a good sign, while a negative or aggressive tone can be a warning sign.
During the interview: what should you really look for
During the recruitment interview, it is essential to go beyond verbal responses to observe the non-verbal signals and personality traits of the candidate. Things like eye contact, posture, and facial expressions can reveal the level of interest and measure the candidate's motivation. This often reflects a positive attitude.
For example, a candidate who avoids eye contact or seems uncomfortable may indicate inconsistencies or trust issues.
Les questions asked by the candidate are also very revealing. Relevant and well-prepared questions about company culture, job responsibilities, or career prospects demonstrate genuine interest and preparation. Conversely, vague or superficial questions may reflect a lack of research or commitment.
Through references: extracting concrete
Les professional references are a valuable source for evaluating a candidate's qualifications and behavior. It is essential to ask specific questions to obtain concrete information and minimize respondent bias. In fact, asking for specific behaviors of the candidate in his previous positions allows you to obtain a clearer vision of his abilities and his compatibility with the position.
It is also important to remain vigilant against respondent biases. A former employer may be excessively positive or negative depending on their relationship with the candidate. Asking open-ended questions and looking for hard evidence is critical to validating the information provided.
Assessing development potential
Good learning habits
Assessing a candidate's development potential consists in going beyond their current skills to analyze their ability to learn and adapt. Curiosity, questioning one's own knowledge, and the ability to learn from failures are key indicators of this potential. A candidate who is curious and open to learning is generally better able to adapt quickly to new situations and to continue their professional development.
Moreover, the ability to learn from failures shows resilience and maturity that are essential for personal and professional growth.
During interviews, questions like “How did you deal with a difficult situation in your previous job?” or “What did you learn from your mistakes?” make it possible not only to assess these aspects but also to provide valuable data on the candidate's ability to adapt in a timely manner.
Soft skills that predict performance
Les soft skills, or behavioral skills, play a decisive role in a candidate's performance. Among the most important are resilience, emotional intelligence, and assertiveness. Resilience helps manage stress and challenges, while emotional intelligence helps you understand and regulate your own emotions as well as those of others.
Assertiveness, on the other hand, promotes clear and respectful communication, while allowing the candidate to defend their ideas and needs.
Tools such as psychometric tests and scenarios are particularly useful for identifying these soft skills objectively and reliably.
The “culture fit” vs the “culture add”
As part of the assessment of development potential, it is important to differentiate between “culture fit” and “culture add”. The “culture fit” refers to the ability of a candidate to integrate into the existing culture of the company, while the “culture add” highlights the contribution of new perspectives and ideas that can enrich and diversify this culture.
A good candidate does not necessarily need to look like you, but should bring a unique added value likely to contribute to a better evolution and innovation of the company.
Adopting this approach promotes the building of diverse and dynamic teams, where diverse perspectives and experiences combine to generate innovative solutions and positive results.
Recognizing biases in the assessment of candidates
Recruiter biases
The assessment of candidates is often influenced by cognitive biases that can alter recruiters' decisions. For example, confirmation bias encourages people to focus on information that reinforces prior beliefs, while neglecting information that contradicts a first impression.
This type of bias can lead to decisions that are not based on the candidate's real merits and reduce diversity within teams. In addition, the similarity bias, or mirror effect, subconsciously pushes to favor candidates who share traits in common with the recruiter, such as personality, values or background. To counter this, it is essential to establish objective criteria and to recognize your own preferences.
The impact of emotional context on the interview
The recruiter's emotional context plays an important role in the assessment of candidates. Fatigue, pressure, mood, or cognitive overload can affect the ability to assess fairly and impartially.
For example, a tired or stressed recruiter might place too much emphasis on a candidate's weaknesses or miss out on essential information. To limit these effects, it is recommended to prepare a structured interview and to take these emotional factors into account.
By involving multiple recruiters and opting for structured interviews, one can diversify perspectives and obtain a more balanced assessment, thus reducing the impact of emotional and cognitive biases.
The biases induced by the assessment method itself
The assessment method used may also introduce biases. The format of the interview and the wording of the questions can influence the perception of the candidate.
For example, questions that are too vague or too focused may not allow for an adequate assessment of skills and qualifications. Likewise, the absence of practical scenarios can limit the ability to assess how a candidate manages real scenarios, which are essential for predicting future performance.
To minimize these biases, it is advisable to use a standardized assessment grid, psychometric or role-playing tests that can be a simple and reliable basis for measuring the adequacy between the qualifications of the candidate and the requirements of the position.
Objectifying the assessment with reliable tools like Yuzu
To make the assessment of candidates more objective, the use of reliable technological tools is strongly recommended. Platforms like Yuzu offer solutions to reduce cognitive biases in recruitment methods.
This tool makes it possible to assess skills and provide assessments based on gamification. They thus reduce the influence of personal prejudices and subjective factors so as not to miss out on quality candidates.
With these technologies, recruiters can ensure that each candidate is evaluated consistently and objectively, based on measurable and concrete criteria. This improves the quality and fairness of recruitment processes and the company's brand image.
Indeed, an interactive recruitment process is a strategy for attracting candidates by improving their experience in the labor market. It's a proven sourcing strategy to attract more candidates.
Conclusion
To successfully recruit, it is essential to adopt a well-thought-out, structured and human-centered strategy. This starts with a precise definition of the needs of the position, followed by a optimized distribution of the job offer, and continues with the implementation of a rigorous selection process.
Assessing the candidate's development potential, analyzing cultural compatibility, as well as taking into account biases in the assessment are key steps that should not be overlooked. In addition, offering a careful candidate experience and concluding interviews in a positive way reinforces the employer brand while increasing the chances of attracting top talent.
Don't wait to put these principles into practice. They will help you attract and integrate ideal candidates, while strengthening the performance and culture of your business.
