When interviewing candidates, we tend to follow a tried and tested recruitment pattern rather than recruiting based on attitudes and personality.
We look for the person with the closest match to the skills and experience to the job description. We could broaden our perspective on how we recruit people, by looking at the approach that big successful companies use to find people with the right attitude to add value to their organisational culture.
As a leader and recruiter for a big corporation in the past, I have found that by identifying the attitudes and personality traits that you are looking for and putting in place a method to unearth these traits in a candidate during the interview process, is worth far more than a tick in the right box on experience or qualifications!
At Apple Inc. the one question that recruiters ask themselves about a potential job candidate is “Could this person have gone toe-to-toe with Steve Jobs?” Apple are looking for people who are fearless, have self-confidence and have the ability to stand up for their own opinions. People who are different!
Carmine Gallo explains in his book The Apple Experience, that the soul of Apple is its people: how they are recruited, trained and taught to create wow moments for every customer every time. On the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained how Apple finds the right people and the qualities that they look for in a candidate.
“People that work with a passion and an idealism”
Apple recruit for attitude and then train for skill. Recruiters are looking for passion. Knowledge of their products does help when being interviewed for a job at Apple, however a magnetic personality is far more important. This is especially difficult to convey with authenticity at a job interview, so is one of the many skills covered on our training courses in presentation skills.
“People that don’t take no for an answer”
Apple recruit people who can give fearless feedback. People who have a strong opinion and have the integrity to stick to that opinion. People who can debate and defend their point of view because they want to make things better.
“People that don’t accept the status quo”
Apple look for people with a desire to do things differently with a different way of looking at things. “Difference is the one thing about us that will always be the same”
“People that are inherently not satisfied with things. They know things should be different. They focus on it until they find an answer”
Job candidates at Apple headquarters or the Apple Store are put through several rounds of interviews with up to ten people or more. They are not looking for successful candidate with all the answers but those who are determined to figure it out in the most efficient way.
“People that can’t be told things are impossible”
It’s in Apple’s DNA that when they’re told something is impossible, they work doubly hard to prove people wrong. When recruiting, Apple want candidates with stories about how they have proved people wrong when they were told something was impossible.
Learn more about Apple’s approach to get a deeper insight into their recruitment process.
Conclusion
Apple’s success depends not only on its products, but also on its ability to recruit the right people that fit in with their culture and DNA. From the development and sale of its products to its leadership team, every person matters and plays a vital role in creating their global brand.
We can learn from Apple: start by identifying the attitudes and personality traits that you are looking for and then put in place a method to identify these trains during your recruitment process.
Make sure your recruiters align with the attitudes and culture you are looking for, and also that they have the skills to carry our successful interviews. Attending the one-day course on Successful Recruitment Interviewing (part of a range of management courses in London) would be a great place to start!