by Lou Adler
As part of my day job, I run a company that trains recruiters and hiring managers on how to attract, assess and hire top performers using Performance-based Hiring. To overcome the impact of first impressions – the primary cause of most hiring errors – we suggest using the first 20-30 minutes of the interview to look for the Achiever Pattern during the resume review. This indicates the candidate is in the top 25% of his or her peer group. None of this has to do with academic credentials, how smart someone is, their communication skills, personality or first impression. It all has to do with how others have recognized the candidate’s on-the-job performance.
Being pretty cynical and somewhat analytical, the following is how I go about spotting a high achiever. I don’t expect to find all 12, but six or more is a good sign the interview should be continued. Note: job-seekers can use this information to make sure the Achiever Pattern is easy to spot on both your resume and LinkedIn profile if you have it. If you’re not quite there yet, use these tips to find a job that offers you the chance to get into this elite 25%. See point 6 below for the importance of this.
- They’ve been assigned difficult challenges ahead of their peers.
- They volunteer or ask to be assigned to projects over their heads.
- They’re put on important multi-functional teams.
- They get a chance to demonstrate their abilities to more senior executives.
- They get promoted more rapidly.
- The reason they change jobs is long-term career focused.
- They’ve established and achieved major goals.
- They’ve been rehired by a former manager.
- They rehire their former subordinates.
- They’re the “go to” person inside their department.
- They’ve received formal recognition outside of their department.
- They were mentored and/or mentored others.