The key differentiator is grit – that all-encompassing soft skill that makes for dedicated employees.
In her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance, Duckworth explored how finding candidates with grit can help companies find great talent. She recommends changing interview from the traditional structure to one that highlights these soft-skills and gritty characteristics.
How do HR managers seek out grittiness?
It’s easy to only want to highlight jobs well done, but failure is an important step to get to success. Admitting failure and mistakes is not easy, and being able to do so shows strength.
As an HR manager, you want to portray the highlights of the job you’re hiring for. A candidate with grit will not back down when learning also about the challenges of a job, in fact, they will likely find it more appealing.
High pressure situations are going to happen, and you want a candidate who can keep their cool. Learn about how they stay calm in these situations. Don’t be afraid to ask about a time they haven’t and what they learned from that situation.
Passion is a key ingredient in the making of gritty candidates, so ask about their hobbies and pursuits outside of work. You can learn a lot about a candidate based on their hobbies!
Once you find gritty candidates, keep them interested by discussing your companies continued training and growth. Finding great candidates is just the first step, you must then continue to provide perks so you can retain them.
