Attributes versus Experience in the Job Market

A headhunter’s perspective on Attributes versus Experience

In preparation for our monthly executive coaching session, a client asked me this past week, “Rob, how do you rate a candidate’s attributes against their experience…what is more important?”

Interesting question.

It all comes down to this: People are usually hired for what they’ve done, but always fired for who they are. The What being a resume (experience) and the Who being their attributes.

Our retention for placed candidates is insane – 93% stay at least three years.

According to the WSJ, the national average is only 35% employees stay longer than three years in a job.

So why are we successful? Because we take a different approach.

Sure, we look at a candidate’s experience, but we meet all of our candidates and closely assess them for their Attributes.

My clients will take attributes over experience any day of the week.

Here are the for attributes that I have seen as critical success factors for the insurance executives we have placed in the past 20 years: 1) Curiosity, 2) Insight, 3) Engagement, and 4) Determination. Let’s take a closer look and look inward.

Do you have these?

Curiosity: Do you have an intellectual desire to learn more; are you a seeker of new experiences and knowledge? Are you open to change?

This is probably my favorite component because finding people who are genuinely curious these days is becoming increasingly rare.

Who has the time? Are you content to mentally check out when the 5PM work whistle blows? Or are you on your way to an stimulating extracurricular activity of some sort?

Do you read books? Are you active in the community?

Are you an intellectually curious person seeking out new challenges? How are you cultivating your mind?

If you are, where is this on your resume? Include a section, “Outside Interests”. It’s one of the first things we look at when getting a new resume. The fact that you have read this far is a strong indication that you meet this criterion. Congrats!

Insight: This is the ability to gather and make sense of information that suggests new possibilities. Do you see patterns? Good at puzzles? Are you good at taking raw data and putting into a format that makes sense? Insight is the father of Judgment.

Do you make good decisions in a logical way? Have you always had good relationships with people…able to select good friends to hang out with?

My dad used to tell me, “Show me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.”

Account managers and producers all need excellent insight to be successful.

Engagement: This one is relatively simple to spot.  You either can either engage with someone or you can’t.  Can’t be taught.

It is THE critical attribute for an insurance sales producer.

Simply put, this is the ability to establish common ground with a complete stranger and connect with them. Not small talk, but to have a meaningful conversation with someone one-to-one.

And, sure, it helps if you have some life experiences to share with the other person. My standard advice to young people: focus on experience over things.

If you can’t connect as a producer or any kind of a salesperson, you are doomed for failure. When I meet with candidates for coffee, I can tell within the first five minutes of the conversation if this individual can connect.

Determination: My favorite. Determination can overcome most obstacles, but because of burnout, a determined person must also be an interested person to perform over the long haul…interested in what he/she is doing.

Otherwise, burnout will creep in. I LOVE candidates who have this attribute.

These are typically candidates who played competitive sports at the collegiate level, worked their way through college while working full-time, had a paper route at the age of 12, or worked in several summer internship programs.

And there are those candidates who were raised in very humble beginnings where Mom and Dad were working multiple jobs to put food on the table. That builds family character. I LOVE these candidates!

What does all this mean for you? Do you have these attributes?

If you do, you are going places. These are the attributes my insurance clients are seeking now in the WDC metro market.

THE TAKEAWAY: Take a look in the glass and ask yourself, “Do I have these attributes?” And if not, the next question should be, “How can I develop these attributes better?”

I always look forward to your feedback and ideas!