This is an old HR tenet, which all HR professionals know well. Unfortunately, many hiring managers may have ever heard it before. As an HR professional with 35 years experience in a variety of industries, I have learned that that old HR tenet is the best philosophy to adopt when hiring. You may find the candidate with the experience, but the wrong attitude for your organization, business or practice. There is another thing I have learned over the years as an HR professional, and that is, you can not train for attitude. An employee with a poor attitude is not valuable to me as employer.
I can teach someone the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the job, but I can not teach them how to have a good attitude.
This includes interpersonal skills, which are often overlooked. How do we know anything about a candidate’s attitude and interpersonal skills?
We have signs from the very first contact with the candidate, and then every interaction following that first contact. Take note of the professionalism and respect the candidate shows when communicating with the recruiter, or employer, from the first email, the first phone conversation and even scheduling of the interviews. Does the candidate respond promptly, and use professional language in their communication, both verbal and written? I have had candidates supply one-word answers to me when communicating via email. That is not a sign of respect. I have had candidates fail to respond to my outreach efforts, only to, weeks or months later, blow up my phone repeatedly asking for an interview. Candidates show you what they will be like on the job from the moment they contact you. Pay attention to all of it, as their attitude is on display.
For any position, within any industry, I would rather hire someone with a good attitude who I could train, rather than hire someone with the experience and a poor attitude. I have to keep in mind that hiring someone with a poor attitude will ultimately impact the rest of my workforce, and sometimes, rather quickly. Then, you will have more than one problem to deal with. Hire for attitude, train for skill.
