7 Reasons Your 'Perfect Candidate' Might Actually Be a Nightmare

Every hiring manager wants to find the candidate who’s absolutely perfect for the job. All you want is someone who checks all the boxes: the right experience, the right skills, the right interview answers. So when a resume comes across your desk that meets all the criteria, it seems like a dream come true. But chances are that dream could actually be a nightmare.

TriCom is here to prevent that nightmare from turning into reality. When you work with us, you can rest assured that your next hire will be a meaningful one. With more than 30 years of experience under our belt, we’ve learned that the “who” always supersedes the “what.” 

Contact us online to find a candidate who meshes with your company’s culture and core values. Meanwhile, we’ve put together seven reasons why your ‘perfect’ candidate might not be so perfect after all.

1. Resumes Aren’t Always Trustworthy

Resumes are often one of two things:

It’s common knowledge that people will sometimes lie on their resume just to get their foot in the door. But others don’t always provide all the relevant information and context of what their technical background is. TriCom, however, gets that info through numerous face-to-face conversations to ensure they’ll thrive at your company.

2. “Fit” Doesn’t Come from Experience

True “fit” is often not something you can ascertain by reading a review of someone’s work experience. Rather, it’s based on the candidate’s ability and willingness to learn new skills and apply them. A lack of cultural fit tends to result in some of the most common mishires.

3. Experience ≠ Ability

Years of experience can be a misleading metric. It’s not always a valid indicator of ability. Two years of experience with any particular program or technological tool can vary drastically from person to person.

That’s what it ultimately comes down to: who the person is. Not everyone develops their skills at the same rate. Someone who has only one year of experience with a tool could have more advanced abilities than someone with five years’ worth. What matters most is someone’s attitude toward learning new things. This is something that TriCom looks for when we talk to candidates for your team.

4. Character Is Paramount

Someone’s resume doesn’t reflect their character, which is the most salient aspect of any great hire. Is the candidate a kind person who works well with others? Are they responsible, diligent, and dependable? Do they show up on time and treat people with respect? 

There are a lot of geniuses who may be great at their jobs, but that doesn’t always mean people enjoy working with them if they’re constantly rude or inconsiderate. If you hire someone with a superiority complex, then people might flock to another company if it means they get to escape a toxic colleague or supervisor.

5. Resumes Don’t Account for Growth Potential

Seldom do resumes reflect a candidate’s unique qualities or potential for growth. They rarely outline the misfires that are so crucial to learning a new lesson. Everyone experiences missteps, and how we recover from those past failures can be a great indicator of problem-solving capabilities. 

Resumes typically present a best-case scenario of how someone performs in the workplace. They usually don’t highlight a candidate’s mistakes and, therefore, how they grow from them. 

6. Rapid Change Requires Adaptability

Everyone in the tech sector knows that the field is changing exceedingly fast. Because of this rapid, widespread transformation, IT professionals need to be more adaptable than ever. It’s difficult to tell whether or not a candidate is an agile problem-solver simply by reading a summary of their work history.

The best way to assess a candidate’s adaptability is by providing them with a work sample as a part of the hiring process. At TriCom, you can have the peace of mind knowing that everyone in our pool of candidates has completed a hands-on assessment to test both their aptitude and critical thinking.

7. Traits Trump Technical Skills

Our clients have consistently told us that cultural fit is one of the most important factors – if not the most important factor – in making a great hire. Here at TriCom, our motto is “it matters who you work with.” That’s because we understand that someone’s traits, not their technical skills, are what determine long-term success.

If there’s anything we’ve taken away from our decades’ worth of experience in IT staffing, then it’s that putting the person first always pays off. Find the next excellent addition to your team when you get in touch with us today. We’d love to work with you.