The Undercover Recruiter

How To Use Emotional Intelligence in Recruitment

emotional intelligence eq in recruitment

At a recent conference, I attended a session led by Rob Gee, a leading management consultant who specialises in leadership, motivation, internal structures and training programmes. He is passionate about business psychology, and specifically how our understanding of it can help us develop individually in the work place – on a personal basis and a company level.

One of the key areas he explored was emotional intelligence, what we understand by this term and specifically how we can implement our knowledge of it in the workplace.

Emotional intelligence – a definition

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Much in line with the nature vs. nurture debate, some researchers suggest that it can be learnt and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic.

Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer have been the leading experts on emotional intelligence since 1990. In their influential article “Emotional Intelligence,” they defined emotional intelligence as, “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (1990).

How can we use this to improve our recruitment processes?

As recruiters, we know that successfully landing a job is not purely based upon a candidate’s qualifications or IQ score. In addition to experience, what employers want is the right personality type, who will be able to fit comfortably in with the team.

When we interview candidates, we go through a number of active thought processes. Without realising it, we are measuring their responses, mannerisms and how well they put themselves across. What we are really doing is assessing their emotional intelligence. It’s that quality, honesty and ability to build rapport that is so often the key to them standing out from the other applicants – and this is the type of employee who ultimately helps the client to improve their staff retention and keep costs down.

What’s important is how we implement our understanding of emotional intelligence to improve how we increase the quality of our hires; whether we are looking for a new graduate recruitment consultant or we are sourcing the perfect candidate.

Get the description right

Firstly, when taking down a job description, focusing on the core behaviours is a vital element to sourcing the best person for the job. When discussing the requirements of a vacancy from a client, think about what qualities they are looking for in an employee.

A bad job description will describe only specific qualifications required, and the responsibilities of the role. Whilst these might imply the core behaviours the candidate needs to demonstrate in interview, a much better specification touches on the person’s softer skills – a more successful specification might include:

Adaptable
Able to influence key stakeholders
Strong communication
Able to negotiate
Problem-solving
Articulate
Team player
Self-motivated

An important part of any job description is an insight into the company culture – does the organisation have a strong social side? Is it a competitive environment? All these unique elements will suit different sets of emotional behaviours – and as the recruiter it is up to you to match the right type of personality to the organisation, as well as taking their experience into consideration. This approach will result in successful placements and promote stronger relationships with your clients.

Psychometric testing

To further test a person’s emotional intelligence, psychometric testing (such as the Thomas International Personal Profile Analysis, or PPA) is becoming more and more common amongst recruiters and employers as a means to understanding the applicant’s personality traits. To offer this service to your clients shows your commitment as a recruiter to fully profiling candidates and finding the right person for the job.

In a sales-based business, such as recruitment, you can also undertake this testing to assist your internal employment drive – identifying the individuals most suited to this type of profession, what motivates them and how well they cope under pressure. In an industry which typically has a high staff turnover, retaining the top talent has to be a priority in order for you to differentiate from your competitors.

Trust your instinct…

In the interview stage, you are likely to gauge how emotionally intelligent someone is by their body language and how they articulate themselves. Don’t underestimate your gut feeling – if someone is saying all the right things, but for some reason you doubt their integrity or their confidence in themselves, it is worth thinking about whether they will give the same impression to the hiring manager. A wise move is to take an extra reference here, that clearly attests to their character in the workplace.

Melissa Mead is a Marketing Assistant at Sellick Partnership, a specialist legal and financial recruitment agency, and is based in the Manchester office. The agency also has offices in Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Derby and Stoke.

photo by: Victor1558

Guest Blogger

This post is written by a guest blogger. If you are interested in submitting a guest post, check out our Guest Post Guidelines - we look forward to hearing from you!

The Psychology of Networking: How Some Appear Natural While Others Stutter

jimmy wales zuckerberg sandberg sheryl doing a bit of networking
If you’ve spent time looking for a new job these days, then it shouldn’t surprise you to find out that, according to Harvard Business School, 65% to 85% of jobs are found through networking.

That statistic was a big deal when it was released. To 99% of the population, it was like a brutal slap in the face. People were outraged that they were not given a “fair chance” to interview. To be frank, I thought that number was pretty low. Here’s why.

Let’s say you went to a bar one night and you intended to meet someone. And sure enough, a stranger approached you as soon as you sat down. Let’s say you hit it off with this stranger. After a brief 30 minutes chat, both of you decided to set another date. Now would you move in with this stranger after the second date?

Because that’s what that number is saying. That number is saying that 15% to 35% of all employers are desperate enough to make a new hire based off 2 interviews (pretty standard practice) with a stranger. And here’s the thing: hiring is a risky business.

Forget the hard financial cost. By employing you, the employer is taking a social risk by introducing you to her team. She is also taking a professional risk because to some extent, hiring you is like putting her job on the line. And most important, she is taking a personal risk – what if you’re a psycho?

That’s where networking comes in. Networking is like dating. It allows your future employer to get to know you better and minimize the risks she will be taking in hiring you. The problem is that schools don’t teach networking – and most people simply don’t know what to do.

Well, the first step is not to appear like a desperate weirdo. Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially when a job is on the line. Here are 2 steps to make sure you never again say, “I can’t believe I said that!”

1. Serendipity vs Goal

“How does he appear so smooth?” my friend wondered. He just witnessed a colleague of ours get a card from one of the most well-known industry influencer. Here’s how: he prepared!

Those who are new to networking tend to have this assumption that networking is like falling in love. You go from one person to the other, stumbling around randomly, and hope that you find “the one”. There’s just one problem with that approach: when you do meet the one, you don’t know what to say.

Networking veterans, on the other hand, have a clear target. They identified which company they want to work with and exactly what role they desire – and thus who they need to speak to.

Before they step into a conference or any networking opportunity, they did their research. Who will be the speakers? Who are the VIPs? Are there anyone who will be there I’d like to meet? Check Linkedin, scour twitter and dig around Facebook. Most people would tell the world when they will be attending a major event.

Once they’ve identified who they want to meet, they do two things:

Find for similarities to create a perceptual bond. For example, did both of you attend the same university? Are both of you photography enthusiasts?

Find out what these people are doing so you can talk about it. Are they involved in a foundation? Did she just come back from a prolonged break?

And if you’re worried they find out you conducted research, don’t! Most people would be flattered you take the time to get to know them better before approaching.

2. Mindset: Getting a Job vs Delivering Value

Once you make contact, make sure you have the right mindset.

Most people have this mindset that they should be given a job before they start working… almost like they are entitled to a job. Treat me well first, in other words, and I will do the same. Successful networkers, on the other hand, know that the opposite is true. You need to deliver value first, and you’ll boost your chances of being offered a job in the future.

There are 3 ways you can deliver value:

Offer to help with a current project. Like this, “I’m actually working on something similar. Would you like my notes?”

Forward interesting research you might have discovered. Busy people have no time to keep up to date with all the latest development in their industry so anyone who points them to interesting happenings scores big points. Start with, “I heard you’re working on this project, you should check this out…”

Introduce them to people who can add value to their lives. Beginners have the misconception of hoarding their contacts, wrongly assuming that social equity is this limited pie. In fact, the opposite is true. The more connections you make, the more your social equity multiplies – just make sure you know the person you’re introducing knows his/her stuff.

So there you go, 2 simple steps. First, conduct your research on a number of topics you want to talk about. Prepare and practice, practice, practice. Second, consult and deliver value first before asking. Heck, don’t expect anything in return for that matter… that simple shift in mindset is bound to improve your behaviour.

This article was written by Andrianes Pinantoan, who is part of the team behind Open Colleges, an Australian TAFE Courses provider. When not working, he can be found in his personal blog, Journey To Earth.

photo by: Robert Scoble

Guest Blogger

This post is written by a guest blogger. If you are interested in submitting a guest post, check out our Guest Post Guidelines - we look forward to hearing from you!