When I am recruiting prospective employees, there are many attributes I look for that would be common aspects sought by many employers: previous experience, skills that would be applicable for the new position, applicable educational background, etc. For me, there are additional intangibles such as personal presence and confidence, communication skills, attitude, the ability to respond to change, and more.
There are, however, red light warning signs that often cause me to pause and reconsider my enthusiasm for a candidate. I always want to understand the story behind the candidate's life. I like to see a logical progression — a Proven Success Pattern — that can explain, or simply tell the story about the path that led the candidate to my office door.
Multiple job changes, a period of unexplainable gaps in employment, or a series of resignations due to dissatisfaction with the previous job or employer are reasons for me to be more likely to slow down the process in considering a candidate.
Even if unemployed for a period, I look to see what the candidate did during gaps —volunteer, study, travel the world, raise a family? These can be solid and valuable ways to enhance the caliber of an individual. But for the resume that show a year or two in one spot, and then the next, I often move away from making the decision to employ that candidate, unless there are very logical explanations.
PSP is up to everyone's control. Staying active and engaged in self-growth even if not employed is a key reflection on the individual.
In my teens I worked summers in a shoe warehouse, a factory, as a landscaper, and more. In college I was in student government, worked in the library, and worked in the theater and concert management organization on campus. I was active in politics and always had a job or was volunteering. For young people in college, I look for the same kind of unique active involvement. It reflects work ethic and goals.
If getting a bachelor's degree, I encourage everyone I meet to augment that time with extracurricular activities. Show that you did more than simply go to class. Get involved in something, anything, and make that as much of your resume as your core classwork.
It's a competitive world, especially for young people, and PSP is one of the eliminators I use to narrow the field when recruiting talent. It's one of those intangibles for me. How about for others?
Author: David H. Stevens
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