Today’s “Top Echelon Recruiting Tip” comes from Top Echelon Network Preferred Member Brenda Wylie-Biggs of KB Search Team, LLC.
According to Wylie-Biggs, companies are looking for more than just a technical fit for their open jobs. They’re looking for a cultural fit, as well. Although companies have always sought candidates who would fit into their culture, this has become even more of a point of emphasis considering the current economic environment.
“My clients are really evaluating a cultural fit, along with the technical skill set,” said Wylie-Biggs. “So I try to find three key soft-skill traits that the company is looking for, in addition to the technical skills.”
It’s no secret that companies are still slow to hire. When they do decide to bring on full-time employees, company officials want to make sure that the people they do hire meet as many of the criteria that they’re looking for as possible. Wylie-Biggs has seen this trend consistently during the past year.
“Most of my clients are Tier-1 Automotive suppliers and are running very lean,” she said. “It’s interesting what hiring managers share. They want to hire people who will be positive role models in their department, people who are true partners and look beyond their department since everything in the company is intertwined, and people who are thick-skinned and can handle being the enforcer.”
Are your clients putting more of an emphasis on soft skills when issuing job orders? Is finding a candidate who’s a cultural fit more important to them than it was a few years ago? If your clients aren’t emphasizing a cultural fit, should they be… and should you be the one who educates them about it?
(Brenda Wylie-Biggs has been a recruiter since 1996, and KB Search Team, LLC joined Top Echelon Network in 1990.)
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