qualities of an ideal candidate
I recently wondered what exactly employers are looking for from candidates in 2024. To find out, I turned to colleagues who are engaged in recruitment at the company where I work. Together, we created a portrait of the “Ideal Candidate” – the same person who confidently passes all stages of the interview and wins the desired place in the team.
Greetings! My name is Katya, I am a front-end developer at Loyalty Labs. For almost 5 years of working in IT, I looked for a job twice: the first time – in 2019, before the pandemic, and the second time – at the end of 2021. And I’ll be honest, regardless of experience, the interview always remains a serious test, similar to the ring, where each round requires endurance and readiness for unexpected turns. So who is he, this “ideal candidate”? What set of traits and skills do you have? Let’s take a closer look!
Contents
The ideal candidate
Anyone who enters this ring must have the qualities to go through all three rounds and emerge victorious.
Sociability – The first sign of a good fighter. The ideal candidate knows how to maintain a conversation, ask clarifying questions and is open to dialogue. It is important to be able to interact with other team members, whether they are developers, analysts or specialists from other industries. He should easily establish contacts and be ready for teamwork.
For example, he may ask:
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What is required to pass IS?
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“Do you have rhubarb? How often does it happen? In what format?
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“How many people are in the teams on the commercial projects?”
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“DMS after IC or immediately?”
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Can they reduce the salary?
Such questions will not only help the candidate learn more about the company, but also show his interest in teamwork and willingness to become part of the team.
Clarity and structure – Another key feature. His answers should be clear and logical, showing that he is able to formulate ideas coherently. In the interview ring, he thinks out loud, explaining his thoughts, which allows him to show his abilities.
The desire for self-development – This candidate is always improving. He is willing to learn, work on his code, and is eager to grow professionally. For him, changes in the industry are new opportunities, not obstacles.
Responsibility and sincerity — for such a candidate, it is important not just to close the task, but also to really understand the essence of his work. He makes commitments, is attentive to deadlines and prefers to admit honestly if he does not know something, instead of demonstrating superficial knowledge.
Adaptability and flexibility — our champion knows how to adapt to changes. In today’s IT world, he understands that adaptability is the key to survival, and is therefore willing to change approaches as necessary.
Now that we know what a “champion” looks like, let’s take a look at how the fight for the championship belt goes, where victory is always awarded to two sides: the candidate gets a cherished place on the team, and we get a new talented colleague who brings fresh ideas and strengthens our team spirit
Round 1: Interview with HR
The first round begins with a meeting with HR, where it is important to show your uniqueness and interest the recruiter. It depends on him whether your path will continue. I asked our recruiters a few questions to find out what they look for at this stage.
What is the first thing you pay attention to in a resume?
Christina
HR Generalist
First of all, I pay attention to the uniqueness of the resume. It can be seen when the candidate wrote it himself, and not just using a template from courses or a text generated by a bot. Of course, you can use GPT to reveal the task, but “dry” academic text does not stick. It’s cool when in the field “About yourself” the candidate talks not only about his experience, but also about his hobbies and plans for the future
Sonya
HR
I am interested in how stable the candidate is in their jobs. If he changed companies a few times, that’s fine, but when each position only lasts a few months, it raises questions. Description of tasks and achievements are also important. If they are disclosed in one line, it is fine in principle, but I will give preference to the applicant who has described his duties and results in detail
What role does a cover letter play?
Christina
HR Generalist
Sometimes there are handwritten letters that stick. In such cases, I will call the candidate for a meeting, even if I understand that the experience is slightly less than what we need. Cover letters are often the same and copied these days, but if a letter stands out from the rest, it’s almost always a reason to invite the person for an interview
Sonya
HR
If a candidate is changing fields, it’s always nice to see them explain why they decided to do so. It is useful if the candidate emphasizes what previous experience may be relevant in the new role
What role does the candidate’s education play? How important are certificates and courses or a technical college?
Sonya
HR
Now more and more customers are paying attention to the availability of technical higher education, so we are also looking at this. Certificates are optional, but, of course, they give a “plus in karma” and help to stand out among other candidates.
What factors immediately indicate that the candidate is not suitable?
Sonya
HR
If the candidate himself does not know why he is changing the place of work and what he wants, this is an alarm signal. At the interview, he should clearly know his goals. Despite popular opinion, we can and should talk about the fact that income growth is one of the main motivators. That’s an honest answer.
Christina
HR Generalist
It happens that the candidate’s unsuitability becomes obvious even at the feedback stage: strange photos in the resume (for example, a meme or overly outrageous images), rudeness in the About section, or when a person constantly applies for various positions that do not correspond to his experience.
Does HR have a blacklist of candidates?
Sonya
HR
There is no general black list of candidates among HR, but there is still a base within the company. It includes candidates who fail interviews or send different resumes for the same company. We also have colleagues in other companies with whom we maintain connections, which sometimes helps to track down unsuitable candidates. But there is no single base for all HR
Round 2: Interview with Lead
In the second round, it is important to show your technical skills, ability to work in a team and stress resistance. I asked the leaders of the areas about what they consider important.
How do you evaluate the solution of test tasks? What is a key success indicator?
Kirill
Lead Frontend directions
We rarely use test tasks. Most often, this is live coding, but in a minimal amount, since the candidate may be nervous and not show his real level. The most important thing is to understand how deeply a person understands the subject. We have a list of questions that can be answered in different ways. This approach allows us to determine the candidate’s level of knowledge.
How do you check whether a candidate is able to work in a team and under stress?
Anton
Lead in Java
Sometimes I ask questions that help to see how the candidate copes with unusual situations. It is important for us that a person feels confident and is open to teamwork. Candidates who constructively express their opinion and can find compromises easily blend into the team
What technologies and approaches are must-haves for candidates in 2024?
Anton
Lead in Java
We are looking for candidates with good knowledge of Java Core, SQL, Git, Gradle, Maven, Docker, and understanding of synchronous and asynchronous interaction. Knowledge of Spring and Hibernate is a prerequisite for our direction
Kirill
Lead Frontend directions
For front-end developers in 2024, knowledge of TypeScript is a necessary minimum. You still need an understanding of JavaScript and at least one framework, as well as the ability to work with CSS grids. Experience with Express or Nuxt.js will be a plus
Denis
Test team lead
Testers need knowledge of programming languages and testing frameworks. The candidate should be well versed in CSS/XPath selectors and have an understanding of JSON Schema and XSD
Round 3: Final interview with COO
The last round is a meeting with the COO (Chief Operating Officer). At this stage, it is important to show that the candidate is capable of working on long-term tasks and is ready to contribute to the company. I spoke with our COO about what qualities he is looking for in the final stage.
What signs that a candidate will be a good team player do you consider important at the final stage?
Arkady
COO
It is important to me that the candidate talks about team achievements. When asked who excelled in a certain situation, a good team player will not only talk about his merits, but also emphasize the contributions of his colleagues.
How do you determine a candidate’s ability to work on long-term projects or strategic tasks?
Arkady
COO
Here I pay attention to how a person reflects on their past workplaces and their ideal future workplace. It is important that the candidate can explain his previous decisions and the reasons for the changes. I ask this not because I am interested in the details of their past project, but to understand their vision and potential for the future.
What role do leadership qualities play, even if the candidate is not applying for a leadership role?
Arkady
COO
Leadership qualities are important, because modern IT is a team effort. Of course, there should be a balance in the team: 10 leaders is a lot, as well as 10 employees without these qualities. But if the candidate has the makings of a leader, this indicates his readiness to grow and take responsibility.
How important is a candidate’s ability to adapt to changes in business and technology to you?
Arkady
COO
This is important, but not the first priority. For me, the first place is always a person’s ability to think flexibly, his human qualities and technical skills. If a person has these qualities, he will quickly master new technologies and adapt to changes.
Did it happen that the candidate went through all the stages, and you wrapped him up? If so, why?
Arkady
COO
Such cases happen. This is usually due to the discrepancy between the candidate’s expectations and our needs.
End of battle
So, after passing all three rounds, the candidate can proudly raise his hands up and try on the “champion’s belt”. The interview process in our company requires endurance, the ability to find a common language and readiness to play as a team. Each round is an opportunity to show your skills and reveal your character. It is important to understand that all these rounds are not a fight to the death, but an exciting competition in which, as in any competition, it is important to maintain respect for your opponent.
But even with this approach, “knockouts” still happen. And I want to share a few particularly memorable stories that will show why candidates sometimes leave the ring early. I warn you right away: all coincidences are random, and the characters are collective images. But the mistakes they made are quite real.
First round knockout:
We discuss the stages of the interview with the candidate in advance. He joins the meeting, and after a brief reminder of the pre-agreed tasks, suddenly declares that he will not carry them out. It turned out that he had just woken up and was simply not in the mood. As a result, the interview had to be ended.
Knockout in the second round:
There were cases where candidates tried to hide the fact that they were listening to the prompts through headphones by repeating the questions out loud and waiting for an answer. Sometimes they would start Googling right during the interview, which made the sound of clicking keyboard keys. In such cases, the interview ended quickly.
Knockout in the third round:
The candidate insisted on a salary level and role that did not match his experience and the real contribution he would be able to bring to the team.
Conclusion
Finally, I would like to say that the interview is a couple’s dance: not only the company chooses you, but you also choose the company with which you will connect your career. Pay attention to how the company conducts a dialogue with you, how open and interested it is in you. After all, candidates have their own criteria for an ideal employer. If you have additional questions for our colleagues, write them in the comments – and in the next article I will be happy to write the answers to them!
If you have any questions about the article or just want to exchange ideas, feel free to message me on LinkedIn.