The X Factor: The Critical Quality You NEVER Find In The CV

The X Factor is a term that I have seen cropping up regularly in recruitment blog posts at the moment. Understandable, I guess, given the popularity of the TV show. But the X Factor, that extra quality which separates the top candidates from the rest, is a really important element in successful recruitment. 

I was talking recently to some old colleagues, and we all agreed that what hiring managers are looking for is primarily the right person, and more often than not the right combination of personal qualities could be at least as important, if not more so, than the experience the candidate had gained. We were all able to give examples of situations where the requirements of a very tight job spec had melted away when the hiring manager was presented with the X Factor candidate.  X Factor candidates do NOT need to tick all the boxes of the job spec to get hired.

So what are these qualities  X Factor candidates possess, and how do they present themselves in the recruitment process? Here are some thoughts:

• Professional: They turn up on time, properly attired.  Never underestimate the importance!
• Personable: An open, friendly manner, easy to converse with.  Able to understand the motivations of others. X Factor candidates are always great communicators.
• Intelligent: Properly prepared, asks searching questions about the brief and the hiring company.
• Insightful: Has an analytical approach and is able to get to the nub of issues quickly - understands the critical issues to manage.
• Honest: Provides a realistic assessment of strengths and weaknesses and career high points and low points; no BS!
• Articulate: Able to communicate complex ideas simply and clearly.
• Commercial: Never loses sight of how his/her efforts fit in to the overall corporate plan.  Understands how their personal contribution can benefit the overall business.
• Able to Challenge the Status Quo: Personally strong enough to challenge existing practices and open to new ways of doing things; possesses an enquiring mind.
• Development Potential: Possesses all the above qualities; shows an appetite for new projects and challenges.

Every management will acknowledge the competitive edge that having top class employees can give their company, but can poor recruitment processes sabotage this plan?  The problem with the X Factor is that it can NEVER be assessed from a CV.

Recruitment which is reactive and two-dimensional, filtering by ticking boxes and done at arm's length, will always run the risk of missing the X Factor candidate.  I am not trying to say that a candidate's experience is completely unimportant, but that it is rarely everything.  For many years hiring managers and agencies have worked to try to make recruitment 'safe' or 'risk free'.  I have seen so much 'safe' recruitment which is essentially about trying to bring in new employees who have effectively already done the same size of job in a similar company. But is this really a strategy to stand out from the crowd? Do you want your employees to be such an unambitious lot? Isn't the real risk that you end up looking exactly like the companies you are trying to differentiate yourself from?

Ironically, for some recruiters the internet, with all the power it can offer, only serves to promote lazy recruiting practices. To get the X Factor candidates, recruiters need to actively go out and look for them.  Of which, more next time!