Hire For This Instead Of That

We almost didn’t hire her.

Our interview conversation was awkward. She answered questions, but I carried the bulk of the conversation. I was evaluating her through the lens of our clients and worrying that her extreme introversion would not instill confidence and hinder the success of the VA-client relationship.

But, she communicated well and enthusiastically via email leading up to the interview. She dressed professionally for the Zoom meeting which we don’t expect from applicants, but it did tell me she cared about the interview. She even had her list of professional references pre-prepared and they included direct supervisors from every single position on her resume.

Despite my concerns from the interview, I moved her forward in the application process. Each of her professional references came back glowing, enthusiastic, detailed, and consistent. Each one of them told us the same thing—we would be foolish not to hire her. It was an easy decision to move her forward to the final stage of our vetting process where she worked for us on paid internal assignments. Her work product and communication throughout were stellar. She opened up more as she got to know us and was a joy to work with along the way.

We hired her. Of course we did!

And she has impressed us and the clients she works with every day since. She is a rockstar virtual assistant and her introversion is her superpower when it comes to assignments where details are critical. I am so glad we developed a vetting process that allows us to give applicants opportunities to shine on their own terms and in their own ways. It would have been easy to stop the hiring process based solely on our interview conversation, and that would have been a huge mistake. The great work she has done with our clients has resulted in long-term business, public testimonials, and multiple referrals.

Beyond The Resume

Because we work solely with stay-at-home parents, who often have resume gaps and a tendency to undervalue the bonus skills they’ve acquired during parenthood, our vetting strategy involves looking beyond the resume and first impressions. Instead, we collect a holistic picture of our applicants to determine if they have a combination of factors that will make them a great fit for our talent pool of virtual assistants and remote employee candidates.

Resumes, education, industry experience, and technical skills are the common benchmarks for qualifying a potential applicant. But, what if you are missing out on amazing team members by rigidly adhering to traditional and often exclusive evaluation practices?

Hire For This Instead of That

Improve Your Hiring Strategy By Valuing These Qualities

Self Taught Skills & Life Experience Instead of Degrees & Connections

Degrees are impressive, but self-taught skills are too. Self-taught skills indicate intrinsic motivation, discipline, and applied application. Degrees are often products of privilege and by limiting your hiring candidates to only those with expensive degrees, you are not only diminishing your diversity and inclusion efforts, but you are also missing out on amazing hires.

With the same privilege comes connections. Filling positions through nepotism is working further in opposition to an inclusive, diverse, and dynamic workforce. Quite shocking considering how much companies benefit from teams that include different backgrounds and perspectives. Study after study has shown that diverse teams are more innovative, high-performing, and engaged.

Core Values Instead of Experience

Years of experience in a particular field are not necessarily the best indicator for a successful hire. Consider the behaviors and traits of your ideal candidate. Experience will remain a factor, but instead of emphasizing years of experience, determine the true minimum skill requirements and focus on the human being.

We are not shy about sharing our core values so when we get an applicant that resonates with them, we are confident they will be a great addition to our team and a great fit for our clients who are attracted by those same values. An applicant can have an impressive job history, but if they don’t support equal rights, game over. Invest in people that align with your company values and mission, and you will achieve a more engaged, productive, and positive work environment.

Soft Skills Instead of Hard Skills

According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report, 89 percent of recruiters say when a hire doesn’t work out, it’s usually due to a lack of soft skills. Soft skills are often overlooked and undervalued when they are the most valued by co-workers and can best determine a durable fit for your culture and team dynamics.

While hard skills demonstrate experience and proficiency related to an ability or knowledge base, soft skills are long-term assets that can be valuable in any workplace environment. Things such as relationship building, resourcefulness, adaptability, empathy, and attention to detail are examples of assets that will differentiate between candidates that are technically qualified and those that will exceed expectations.

The Future of Work

In a 2022 collection of Eye-Opening Work-Life Balance Statistics, 56% of employee burnout is caused by a negative work culture and is to blame for 20-50% of turnover. That is a staggering statistic and a small snapshot of the drastically evolving needs of the modern workforce. The future of work is one built around a more holistic approach to hiring, respect for work-life integration (not balance), and clearly defined and executed company values. This is how companies can compete for top talent, achieve and benefit from diversity and inclusion, and prosper with integrity.