"With fingers crossed, it seems that employment levels are beginning to shift. Companies are starting to hire again. This guest post might prove helpful in evaluating candidates." – Eileen McDargh
Imagine a scenario where you have hired an employee. The employee's qualifications seem great on paper, but then in 2020, after the COVID19 pandemic hit, they're unable to cope with the setback that it caused them.
That's where career resilience comes in. It's the ability to overcome barriers and adapt to change or look for solutions to problems when they arise, all with a positive outlook. It's important to assess emotional intelligence traits like career resilience when you hire a candidate for any position; otherwise, despite their outstanding qualifications and impressive skills, they might not be able to cope with a high-pressure work environment.
Here’s what hiring managers can find in recruiting resilient employees:
Resilient employees remain focused and motivated to achieve their career goals, even when things are difficult.
They can spot patterns under challenging situations, understand how they work, and turn them into opportunities.
They don't let past bad experiences get in the way of their future goals.
They are ready to keep upgrading their skills and learn more if and when the job demands.
Here are essential attributes of career resilience that should be considered when hiring a potential recruit for a job:
1. The potential recruit has an optimistic outlook
Optimists view the glass half full, and cynics view the glass half empty. But that's not all that separates optimists from pessimists. When confronted with a problematic situation, cynics might feel overwhelmed, helpless, and not understand how they would overcome an obstacle.
That's when an optimistic outlook helps you focus on finding a solution for the problem and not just ruminate on how bad things are around you. This trait will help a potential recruit cope with new unforeseen challenges at work in the future.
2. The potential recruit is ready to learn new skills even if they seem difficult
The way we typically work went through a significant change in 2020 because of the COVID19 pandemic. Employees had to adapt, innovate, upgrade their skill set when they started working from home.
To deal effectively with this change, it is essential to learn a new skill set for dealing with new challenges. Career resilience can be seen when professionals can learn new skills or upgrade and improve their existing ones. When you possess a unique skill set, your perspective changes, and you spot connections that you have never noticed before.
3. The potential recruit looks at the big picture
The potential recruit must have a vision for what their plan for their future is and how their career goals align with those of the organization. They must have a vision of how they want their whole life to look like and how they're going to grow their career and cope with obstacles if they come in the way.
4. The potential recruit must have patience
It's easy to get frustrated when there's no solution to a problem at work, and it's easier just to shrug your shoulders and give up. It's essential to have patience and not give up on trying to develop solutions for a problem. There are a few bad eggs in every organization. It's also essential for employees to have the patience to deal with unpleasant coworkers or bad clients and try to think of a workaround of working with them instead of giving up.
5. The potential recruit wants to improve themselves constantly
The ability to adapt and mold oneself in the face of change also prevents people from being stuck in difficult situations. Unless the employee is okay with understanding and evaluating how they're dealing with problems and trying to identify and change unhelpful thought patterns that don't help them then they won't be able to cope with a high-pressure job.
6. The potential recruit helps out colleagues and has strong relationships with them
While it is great that your potential recruit is ambitious and really works hard at their job, they must be a team player as well. It is important to be aware of their past relationships with colleagues in previous organizations they have worked with. Did they have a good working relationship with their colleagues? Were they okay in helping their colleagues out when they were stuck?
This shows if the employee can work in a team — without stepping on anyone's toes.
An ability to help people around you also shows a sign of security, empathy and confidence in one's skills.
No matter what skills and qualifications a potential employee might bring to the table, they will not be able to succeed unless they're resilient and show high emotional intelligence so that they can deal with pressure.
About Kelly Barcelos
Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager for Jobsoid – Applicant Tracking System. She is responsible for leading the content and social media teams at work. Her expertise and experience in the field of HR enable her to create value-driven content for her readers – both on Jobsoid’s blog and other guest blogs where she publishes content regularly.