This is the fourth in a series of articles that will help employers better identify the candidates who are superior.
What Makes a Job Candidate “Superior”?
Answer – living a life based on principles such as being responsible, committed, authentic, in contribution, and in collaborative agreement. Besides being a benefit to employers, a candidate can benefit by assessing their understanding and application of these principles in their life. Let’s see how you, as the employer or candidate, “measure up” to understanding and applying the principle of being “in contribution.”
How Do You Measure Up?
To be “in contribution” is acting from a motive of giving and serving. Being “in contribution” is realizing that you matter and that you are not separate from others and that you belong to humanity and humanity reflects what you and other people are being. For example, when a family or team is being “loving,” everyone in the family or team experiences that. When you demonstrate teamwork, others experience that and you contribute to being a team.
You can serve and contribute to people around you by being generous, caring, loving, excellent, rigorous, intelligent, etc. You can also contribute to people by seeing them as these qualities. Give to others the way you want to be. You want to be loving? Give love. You want to be powerful? Give power. You want to be committed? Commit to others. You want respect, respect others. You want to receive, give to others.
Do you or the candidate demonstrate this understanding and application of being “in contribution”? If a candidate is “in contribution”, they are likely to focus on other people. During the interview, they talk about how they have or could help and assist others. “Taker” type candidates focus on and ask about what they get. Instead, you want a candidate who you can trust to be of service to the organization, customers, and fellow employees as their first choice for most of their decisions.
Watch Out For the “Takers”
During interviews, find out if and when candidates have demonstrated high levels of service. Candidates demonstrate service and contribution when they ask and talk about how they can best be of service. Ask candidates to give examples of their choices when faced with conflict between serving others or taking care of themselves. Some balance is best but notice if a candidate at least feels conflicted with taking care of themselves first when faced with deciding between themselves and contributing to others needing their assistance. It’s not an easy decision at times and those committed to being “in contribution” will express that difficulty. If you get the feeling the candidate’s main concern is about themselves, watch out! Let someone else hire the “taker” person.
The next blog article will continue with discussing principle-based living. We will continue to explore another principle that supports being a superior candidate. Next, we discuss the principle of gaining agreement and getting buy-in and how it’s a powerful indicator of superior candidates.
