There is often more than one choice among candidates who qualify for any given position. So how does a hiring manager make the best choice when selecting one among several candidates who all meet the requirements of the job?
As group owner of several groups on Linkedin, the largest of which has over 80k members. I recently asked the following question to several of our Healthcare Executive US Networking Members:
What differentiating factors do some HR professionals and hiring managers use to rank candidates higher or lower beyond the minimum requirements?
Below were some of their comments:
Sophie Varghese, MSN, Director of Peri-Anesthesia|IR for Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC says, “I look for positive outlook, superb customer satisfaction skills, team mentality, work ethics, honesty, flexibility, reliability, critical thinking skills, common sense and a sense of humor. I can teach skills required to do the job, but I won't be able to change basic character and personality.”
Elaine Beckwith, NCC, LMHC, Director of Compliance and Performance Management for Jerome Golden Center for Behavioral Health in West Palm Beach, FL says, “Currently, so many people lack those 'soft skills' due to technology.” She identifies critical soft skills as, “professionalism, proper grammar, spelling, determining boundaries and remaining flexible, when either working or serving with others.”
Audrey Travis, PHR, Senior Executive Recruiter of University of Texas Medical Branch in Houston, Texas says that, “Communication, strategic thinking, professionalism, and leadership” are among a few of the skills she looks for when evaluating candidates beyond the minimum requirements of the job.
Max Gibbons, Cancer Care Coordinator of Ocala Health Systems in Ocala, FL says that when examining resumes, he prefers “someone who is bilingual," which is often overlooked in his area. However, when assessing each candidate's engagement level, he feels this is better done in-person. The face-to-face interview helps him determine if someone is there "just for a job" or if they are really looking to make a strong career move.
Onyeka Abengowe MS, CNMT, Lead Nuclear Medicine Technologist for Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite, TX sheds more light on this by saying, “Engagement and ability to convey passion, confidence, dedication and belief in their ability to help grow the firm” are all important differentiating factors.
Whether one is in hiring or job seeking mode, hopefully these comments shed light on areas of concern or improvement in searching for the perfect candidate or perfect job opportunity. Special thanks to all of our respondents.
Please join me in thanking them for sharing their candid opinions with us. These comments were taken from the upcoming book, Winning the Talent Acquisition Game with Recruitment Process Enhancement. The book covers most parts of the Talent Acquisition process in a concise and relevant manner. It is due to be released in August 2016.
Rollis Fontenot IIIPresident and Business Development Executive for Ascend HR Corp. Rollis recruited healthcare clinicians, professionals, managers and executives since 2004. Some examples titles include: CEO, Director, Nurse Manager, RN, nurse practitioner, physician, physician assistant and more. Rollis has also recruited many other functions within healthcare as well as escrow officers and assistants within the title insurance industry.
Ascend HR Corp offers recruitment services on a monthly subscription. We specialize in recruitment process enhancement from finding qualified and interested candidates all the way to full life-cycle recruitment for our clients. We specialize in fixing the most difficult recruitment issues/challenges. No problem is too large. We can help turn around the results of any recruitment department that wants to improve. Please download a sample of Rollis' book "Winning the Talent Acquisition Game with Recruitment Process Enhancement"
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