Should You Evaluate a Candidate on Enthusiasm?

When hiring, you naturally want to focus on who will make the best employee, and that often comes from looking at the person’s background and experience. But do you also look at enthusiasm? There’s something rewards when hiring a candidate whose attitude leads to a more positive experience for all involved.

• Think about building a team. What kind of team works best, one that trusts each other and has a great rapport, or one that all has great qualifications but can never see eye-to-eye? You know the answer, and as you put that team together, you need to think about adding someone who wants to be there and who wants to collaborate with others. Enthusiasm drives that collaborative effort. You want someone who will bring the quality of your culture up. So, look for someone who shares your goals, values and ethics who wants to become the next team member.

• Bear in mind what you can teach. You can teach a new employee hard skills. The softer skills, such as how to successfully interact with customers and clients are ones to value. A candidate who may not have every skill you want, but is willing to learn, will take your company further than the one who has every skill, but little enthusiasm for the position itself. You want someone with a positive attitude when work gets stressful, so look for that in the interview.

• What to ask? To figure out the level of a candidate’s enthusiasm, ask them what and why questions: What opportunities do you want? What about this position interested you the most? Why do you want this position? Why does the company’s mission excite and resonate with them? Then listen carefully to their answers. If you can understand not only what they’re looking for, but also why they have an interest in the position, that will give you a good gauge as to their enthusiasm for the job.

Hiring on enthusiasm may not seem like an exact science. However, it can determine the longevity of an employee, as well as their success working with others (and the company overall). For help with finding top quality employees, talk with us. Visit Medical Professionals.