What Do Hiring Managers Really Want?
Employers don't always prefer ambitious high-achievers.
Nov 09 2004
By Anne Fisher
Fortune.com
Dear Annie:
I've been job hunting for about six months now and, while I have a lot of experience and the right credentials for every position I've applied for, I'm getting nowhere. A friend took a look at my resume and suggested that it may be too focused on my individual accomplishments and not enough on teamwork (working well with others, leading a group to achieve a goal, etc.). Do you think he's right?
—Lone Ranger
Dear L.R. :
It's hard to say without seeing your resume, but your friend may have a point. Pittsburgh-based HR consulting firm Development Dimensions International (www.ddiworld.com) recently polled 1,515 employers to find out what they're seeking in new hires, and discovered that 75% want employees who work well in a team setting. Only 20% cited individual ambition as a desirable trait. "In today's working environment, very little is accomplished without strong collaboration," says Scott Erker, a DDI vice president. He believes managers worry that "overly ambitious hires will only look out for themselves, which can harm team productivity and morale."
The DDI survey yielded a few other tidbits that are rather surprising, at least to me. For instance, the conventional wisdom holds that being late for a job interview is an automatic black mark against a candidate, as is showing up (late or not) with only a very sketchy knowledge of the company's business. But according to DDI's research, just 15% of job interviewers say they'd be turned off by these shortcomings. By contrast, the majority—57%—say they'd turn thumbs down on "inarticulate candidates or those who are vague about their previous experience." Says Erker: "Hiring managers don't want to have to train people to communicate well. If an applicant is a vague communicator in an interview, chances are that he or she will not communicate well on the job either."
So, while you're tweaking your resume to make more mention of your collaborative skills, think too about how clearly you're able to describe your experience in person. The clearer and more specific you can be, the more likely an interviewer is to be impressed. |
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