Desired Candidate Profile | Hire good employees

The first step in finding a great hire is defining a desired candidate profile. In our article about how to write a vacancy announcement , we talk about the first step in writing a job announcement is to determine the ideal candidate profile for the job.

In this article we will talk about how to create the ideal candidate profile. An ideal candidate profile is essential to hire good employees.

We also provide ideal candidate profile examples.

In his book The Five Attributes: Essentials of Hiring for Christian Organizations, Chad Carter provides Six Disciplines of Predictive Hiring™. The first principle which we discuss in this article is Alignment. Defining what a “great hire” looks like for your organization provides a way to achieve alignment.

This means that we create a job candidate profile before we do anything else. When we are creating an ideal candidate profile we ask ourselves the following questions:

Are there availability, travel, physical or other factors which need to be considered?
What are the 5 Cs we are looking for in a candidate?
What soft skills are required to do the job well?
What additional soft skills would be nice to have and give preference to a candidate?
What are the hard skills required to do their job?
What are the hard skills which would give preference to a candidate?

This profile once defined, then becomes a guide for our screening process. At iBCScorp™ we consider separately:

Are they fit for our company
Are they fit for this department
Are they fit for this role

We might do an initial interview just to determine they are fit or aligned with iBCScorp™, and then move on to sequential interviews.

Physical factors

This is pretty simple, do they need a computer, microphone, webcam, proximity to the office, quiet place to work etc. It is easy to list these and it is easy to evaluate these.

The 5 C’s

Alignment and the 5C’s Explained

Bill Hybel’s “three c’s” were expanded by Carter adding calling and contribution.

Character

Character is the combined traits that make up a person's nature. Mental and moral qualities like honesty, adventurousness, humility etc.

Competence

Competence is the person's ability to do their job tasks and functions effectively and efficiently.

Calling

This is a person's sense of vocation. What they are intrinsically or otherwise motivated to do. What is the person's passion? They might feel spiritually called to do a particular thing.

Contribution

This includes what the person can bring to the team, immediately, and in the long term.

Chemistry

Chemistry defines a person's ability to “fit” within an existing team.

Alignment and the 5C’s applied

So we ask ourselves, what are the 5 Cs we are looking for in a candidate? How do we define them, how do we evaluate them?

Here is how we do it. We first list them, then prioritize them. Then we have a minimal acceptable score for each one. These numbers are used during the candidate evaluation process.

Character

Is the applicant's character aligned with company values and requirements?

Alignment means we are looking for a new hire who matches the company and or team where this new candidate will be placed. This means we have to know the company's priorities and values as well.

At iBCScorp™, we publish our corporate values right on our website. We discuss them during training and we use them as a guide when hiring.

If a candidate's character is not in line with the company's values, then the likelihood of a long term match is limited.

In our IBCScorp™ Ideal Candidate Profile document we list and prioritize our values and soft skills which are a high priority for the company. An individual department or team may have additional requirements.

We have a priority for different values and do our best to evaluate if the candidate is in line with those evalues.

Every company has their own values and their own priorities. It is not a right and wrong issue, it is just an issue of what is valued by the company. This decision needs to be made at and agreed on at a high level and should be evaluated periodically.

Competence

Is the applicant competent to work at your company?

We may have separate competence requirements for an individual department or job role.

Because we have a largely remote workforce, competency standards at iBCScorp™ reflect the ability to work independently and to stay on task without direct supervision. These may be completely different for your company.

Competence includes both hard skills and soft skill requirements.

Calling

When people are passionate about their job, they perform well and are more content.

My son in law, for example, is passionate about IT security. He spends his free time reading, studying and staying up to date on this topic.

For him IT Security is a calling or compulsion. He is passionate about this topic.

This is what we are looking for in our staff. This is important for us and for them. We want members of our staff to be happy and have fulfilling lives. Matching them with jobs that they are excited about is important, and an obligation for HR Executives.

Contribution

While there is no guarantee that a candidate’s previous success will result in future performance, it is perhaps the best indicator we have. Looking at previous performance from a resume, or their online profiles gives an indication. Also is the candidate eager to talk about their achievements or are they hesitant to do so? These kinds of things give an indication of contribution.

Chemistry

Chemistry is hard to define, but having multiple people interview the candidate and just talk should give an idea of chemistry which can be ranked gain 0-10

Team Values and requirements

Depending on the team, different criteria may be required. For example a customer service rep may need to have good communication skills, while a react developer may have a higher priority on problem solving skills, or a QA person on the ability to pay attention to detail. For each of the above, individual teams and for sure jobs will have their own values, descriptions and requirements.

Ideal Candidate Profile Conclusion

The best way to hire great people is to start with a desired candidate profile. This profile will guide recruiting efforts and the evaluation process.