Must-have qualities and how to find them

Recruiting the right person into your team can sometimes seem like banging your head against a brick wall.  You think you’ve found perfection and then you are let down.  They had all the skills, they got on with the team but it didn’t work out and you’re back to square one of a lengthy, painful process.

The fantastic news is that there are 3 traits that all superstars have.  And they are easy to spot… if you know how.

1.  Integrity/Honesty
No matter how talented an individual is, it means nothing if they are using their skills to work against the company.  A superstar candidate is honest about their own abilities: CV embellishment is more common than you think.  Just last week, top city lawyer, Dennis O’Riordan was exposed as lying about most of his achievements, including earning a doctorate at Oxford and attending Harvard.  During his career he was Legal Head for many banks across the world.  Scary stuff, and a reason to ALWAYS check references.

A superstar candidate will have the integrity to always act in the best interests of the company.  If something has gone wrong, they will admit their mistakes as soon as they happen and care enough to produce an action plan to put things right and ensure it doesn’t happen again.  Compare this to an employee who hides their mistakes or incompetence until catastrophe strikes and they are found out.  You are unlikely to see them for dust while you are left scrambling for answers.

Ideal interview question:  Tell me about a time you made a mistake?  What happened next?

2.  Accountability/Autonomy
A superstar won’t need their lunch breaks monitoring and you won’t need to worry if they will have the correct documents with them at meetings.  A superstar is ready to be held accountable and won’t need constant supervision to get the job done.

When superstars take responsibility for a task, you know it will get done in time, and to an excellent standard, and if it doesn’t, you’ll have received a memo in advance with the reason (not an excuse) why and a revised timescale. A superstar can be flexible and prioritise.  If their skills can help a team member with something urgent, they will assist, because at that moment it is in the best interests of the company.

Ideal interview question:  Describe your preferred relationship with your manager in terms of direction and monitoring.

3.  Fearlessness/Ambition
A superstar isn’t afraid to take risks.  If their idea doesn’t work they won’t give up: you can expect another well thought out proposal on your desk by the end of the week. They will always be looking for opportunities to prove themselves and will not scrape by doing the bare minimum.  An ambitious candidate will be seeking long term professional development in your company and loyalty won’t be a problem for them.

Ideal interview question:  How long would it be until you were able to make a serious contribution to your organization?

We find talent
Here at Langley James we get to know our candidates.  We take pride in only selecting people that we are confident suit your company and the opportunity.  We place stars in fantastic IT roles every day and we can do the same for your company.

To discuss your IT recruitment needs please call us on 0207 788 6600 or email us at langleyjames@langleyjames.com.   We’d love you to join in the conversation.  Tweet us @ITRecruitment or follow us on Facebook.