What Recruiters Look For In A Candidate
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As recruiters, our intention is to provide the best opportunity and experience for the candidate and the company. At Accela Talent, we always strive to facilitate a smooth recruitment process for everyone.
There are three types of qualities that recruiters assess: technical knowledge, experience, and culture. During the recruitment process, we look at a candidate’s education (skills training) and work experience. We identify the school and background the candidates have then evaluate their skills.
Depending on the level of the candidate and role, we may assess different qualifications in different ways. For example, in junior candidates we will put a significant emphasis on their education and qualifications as they don’t have much commercial experience under their belt. We want to understand how their knowledge and skills have been used and applied in school projects or internships. Examples of this are:
Final Year Project: how their experience was applied, what they learned, what skills were required, what they achieved, etc.
Internships (a taste of the commercial world): what contributions they made, what they learned, what goals they achieved, what professional skills were gained, etc.
In senior candidates, we look more closely at their work experience, the skills gained, what they learned, the projects they accomplished and more. Working across a variety of industries and types of roles, this assessment will vary by industry. For example, in Software Engineer candidates, we look for projects they have completed in the commercial world, the skills and technology used, the product, and their tech-stack. In Data Scientist candidates, we search for a different set of skills and knowledge; we look at their optimisation skills, problem-solving skills, knowledge of the company’s industry, and the tools that they have experience with.
For all candidates, we look for two key qualities:
Skills: First, we look for the skills needed in the professional workforce, which can include problem-solving skills, leadership skills, communication skills, and attitude.
Culture: Second, we assess culture fit, as it’s crucial that the candidate and company are a match. At Accela Talent, we pride ourselves in asking the right questions to assess culture fit accurately, delving into questions about themselves, their personality, their preferred working environment or management style and more.
Other key considerations will include:
CV: Is it clean, easy to read, error-free, well-formatted, and not too content heavy?
Communication: Is the communication clear, professional, and dynamic?
Phone interview: Are they engaged? Do they ask questions? Is their tone of voice positive?
Action and Effort: Are they making the time and taking the initiative? Are they showing their interest?
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Connecting our clients with the perfect candidate is what we specialise in on our Recruitment team at Accela Talent. Want to learn more? Let’s chat: [email protected].
