Hiring the wrong candidate can be damaging to your workplace culture and team dynamic, but hiring the right one can potentially transform a business. As competition for skilled professionals is at an all-time high, employers need to be confident spotting talented candidates and attracting them through slick recruitment methods. What signals can employers look for to identify strong candidates when recruiting HR professionals?

Genuine interest

Candidates who genuinely resonate with the purpose of your organisation will be instrumental in helping the business reach its goals. They will be the ones to push themselves beyond the remit of their role for the good of the company as well as their own professional development. While this is beneficial for employees in any sized organisation, it is particularly important for SMEs working in a close-knit team.

It can be difficult to discern those applicants who really are passionate about your organisation and the opportunities of the role, but by far the best way to elicit a candidate’s levels of interest is in an interview scenario. Ask questions around what appeals most about working at your organisation, what they think sets you apart from your competitors and why they think they would be a good fit in your workplace.

Interested candidates will come prepared with knowledge and questions about the organisation. If their engagement goes beyond being familiar with the job description, it is a sign that they are interested in the organisation and thus potentially be a strong candidate who will commit to the role and your organisation’s purpose.

Committed learning

Learning and upskilling should be prioritised among organisations who want to improve employee retention and grow alongside rapid digital transformation. According to the Hays Salary and Recruiting Trends 2019 guide, most employers experienced skills shortages last year (94%) and just over a third (34%) say they do not have the talent needed to achieve current objectives.

To address these skill shortages employers are urged to recruit candidates who will align with their upskilling objectives, in addition to committing to the continued learning of their current staff. These candidates will be motivated by the growth of your business and may be more loyal to your organisation in the interest of their professional development.

Despite almost half of HR workers (41%) saying that training and professional development is the most important benefit when choosing a new role, this can be difficult for candidates to express in their application. Employers should look out for a proactive self-learning mindset and a thirst for new opportunities by asking questions surrounding new skills the candidate might have acquired, future predictions for their area of expertise and what steps they take to keep their knowledge up-to-date.

Team spirit

Social connectedness is a key element of any company culture, but particularly in HR where employee wellbeing is at the heart of the profession. When interviewing potential candidates, HR employers need to prioritise those who will seamlessly slip into their company culture and work well alongside their existing team.

One way to assess this is to gauge how much credit the candidate takes for their accomplishments whilst you are interviewing them. Notice how often they say ‘me’ over ‘we’ and whether their goals are individual or collective. If the interview turns more into a conversation, take this as a good sign as this means you have a good rapport.

On a final note, aim to make your hiring process as diverse as possible to have a better chance of identifying strong candidates. By allowing different colleagues at a variety of levels to interview applicants, you can help to ensure that the person chosen will have the approval of the staff they will be working alongside.

It can be tricky to spot what makes a strong candidate in HR, particularly because jobseekers in this profession are discerning applicants due to their insider knowledge. But by staying alert to these signals and letting them guide your judgement of an applicant, employers will give themselves the best chance of spotting strong candidates to recruit.