Cut, Copy, Paste

When making your next hire, will you be looking for the right qualities in the candidates that apply?

As Apple finally delivered Cut, Copy, Paste for the iPhone this month, a feature that some might refer to as "pretty basic", it spurred me to consider how applicable our past experiences are when solving new manifestations of the "same old" problem and, in particular, what is their relevance when moving between discrete roles and employers?

People are typically brought into an organisation on the back of their past experience. As recruiters, we can be overly prescriptive when describing the ideal candidate and too easily persuaded when we find what looks like the perfect match. At the back of our minds, we should always remember that "past performance is no guarantee of future results".

In practice, solutions are unique to the environment in which they are conceived and implemented. So, to my mind, it is how the results are achieved and the skills that are employed that are the most critical factors, as these are far more portable than the results themselves. What you value in this context will depend on your particular organisation, but examples might include: listening, critical reasoning, collaboration, engagement and tenacity, to name just a few. Often, these are the very things you look for during graduate recruitment when past experience is only a minor consideration.

A strong team needs a broad set of knowledge, skills and experience to be at its most effective. So, before you limit your candidate pool unnecessarily, I recommend that you take a step back and reassess what qualities would have the greatest positive impact on your team.