Qualities that Make a Great Candidate for Your Organization

When you have a vacancy at your business or organization, it can be tempting to try and fill the position as quickly as possible. But in order to find a quality candidate for the job, you have to take the time to interview a lot of candidates over a longer period of time. You also have to ask the right questions to really dig deep into each person you are interviewing to learn about the kind of employee they are.

Below are some tips for business owners on what makes a candidate top notch.

They understand your business goals.

A good candidate understands the business' image and reputation and has ideas about how they can continue to help the business grow. For example, if you are hiring for your marketing department, this candidate will have an understanding of how your company has branded itself and they can potentially grow with you to move the image of the brand forward.

The job fits the candidates career goals.

Growth and success looks different for everyone. Some people want to gain experience by exposing themselves to different types of industries, so they may not stay long at an organization. Some people know what industry they want to work in and they will try to find a job in that industry and move their way up. Some want to work for a larger company in the city and some like smaller organizations. Depending on what the candidate wants for themselves, you can determine as a business owner if they are a right fit for your company.

They find solutions to problems.

Instead of just identifying a problem, a great candidate will take it a step further and come up with solutions. As an example, if there is an issue with a particular program at the office, this person would take some time to perhaps call or e-mail support or see if they can find a solution by watching some helpful YouTube videos.

Are they willing to learn?

It’s not always about hiring the person who is the most qualified, sometimes it’s about who has the best attitude. A candidate could check off all your boxes, but they aren’t motivated to do more than what their responsibilities are. Even if they don’t have the most experience, perhaps a better candidate for your organization is someone who learns how to do the job along the way and is eager to take on more.

You can rely on them and they're organized.

Find a candidate you can trust and who is loyal to your organization. To ensure the efficiency of your business, a great candidate won’t have to be reminded to complete an assigned task or project because they’re organized and work ahead of schedule to ensure its completion. With a candidate like this you can also rely on them to fill in for other employees on the spot if they’re away on vacation or call in sick.

Click here to watch President of TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA discuss this topic.

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