As a student, you prepare for campus recruiting events by doing a number of requisite, time honored activities aimed at making the best impression possible – creating the perfect resume, practicing a firm handshake, ensuring your attire is cleaned, pressed and appropriate, rehearsing that 30 second elevator pitch – all tasks within your control.
But what about those aspects of the process you cannot control? Particularly, what is it that organizations and their recruiters are looking for in their ideal candidates? Student often find themselves asking “What skill sets do employers desire?”, “What character traits best fit their company culture?”, “Do I have what they’re looking for?”. Guessing at these questions is enough to cause students to sweat through their freshly laundered suit coats and present a sweaty handshake.
Ideal Candidate Qualities
Quite often, when considering student candidates, employers tend to share the same desired traits and characteristics as their competitors. Here are a few of those qualities:
- Leadership – Can a candidate take initiative, build consensus and demonstrate confidence?
- Problem Solving – Can a candidate analyze a situation and provide viable steps to a solution?
- Flexibility – Can a candidate multitask and adapt to a changing environment?
- Communication – Can a candidate relate to others effectively?
- Teamwork – Can a candidate work well with others in varying roles?
- Professionalism – Can a candidate present themselves in a manner that honorably represents the organization?
When students begin to think like a recruiter, they have a better idea as to what the organization is seeking in their candidates. The best way to discover this is by simply asking recruiters the question “What character traits are they seeking in their candidates?”. Or, better yet, “What are the characteristics of the company’s most successful employees?”.
By getting into a recruiter’s thought process, candidates can have a better sense if they will be the right fit for the role and the firm, they can better anticipate what the recruiter is seeking in their candidates, and they can prepare questions and responses that will cater to the organization’s profile of a successful candidate.
