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Increasingly, employers hear they should hire for attitude and potential and train for skills. Sounds like a great plan, but how can you achieve it? How can you identify potential and develop that potential to its fullest in your company?

Here are 7 tips that will help you hire for potential.

Ask the right questions.

  1. Present the candidate with hypothetical situations that are relevant to your organization. Ask them to detail how they would handle the situation on the job. Look less for accuracy and more at the candidate’s thought process.
  2. Ask how they have handled job challenges such as correcting a mistake or working with a difficult coworker. Look for hints in their anecdotes as to how well they would fit into your organization.
  3. Discuss how they learn. Find out what approach they take to expanding their knowledge. Do they jump right into a new challenge? Read a book? No matter how they go about it, a candidate who is eager to learn will be easy to coach to success.
  4. Find out what they know about the company. Choose a candidate who has gone out of their way to learn about the organization where they hope to work.
  5. Ask the candidate about their plans for the future. What do they want to do with their career? If it meshes with the company’s plans and values, it may be worth taking a gamble on hiring them.

Look at the evidence.

  1. Examine their experience. Have they gone out of their way to take on new challenges? Candidates who take on new challenges or roles, whether promotions or lateral moves, are people who are eager to learn new things and not afraid of change.
  2. Assess their skill level. If there are specific skills required for the position, have them demonstrate their current abilities so you can determine how much training they will need to get up to speed and how easy it will be to train them.

Nurture their talents.

If you take a chance and hire a candidate for potential, be sure you have the systems and resources in place to develop their talents. High-potential candidates tend to be motivated and ambitious. If their talents are not utilized in your organization, it won’t take long for them to go elsewhere.

At SMR Group Ltd, our recruiters specialize in connecting biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies with highly skilled, high-potential talent. Contact us today to learn more about our specialized recruiting services.


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