There are various things that executive HR search firms are looking for when they are trying to restructure and hire new employees. The traits and characteristics that these human resources executive recruiters require are not unlike those needed to any position. However, they are even more crucial for this line of work because the employees are usually working with personal and sensitive information regarding other employees and contractors. If you are trying to get into this line of work then here are some of the things that potential HR recruiters might be looking for.
Punctuality
Make sure that you are on time for your first interview. That first impression says everything. Even if you are not typically on time for many events, this first interview and any following interviews are the most important things that you could be on time for. You really should be cultivating a habit of being on time as this will help you to establish good, ethical habits for when job opportunities from executive HR search firms come up. Being on time when arriving places is not the only type of punctuality that a potential employer is looking for. They also want to know that you can meet deadlines and things like that.
Integrity
In order to work in Human Resources, you need to have a certain level of personal honesty. You will likely come across a lot of personal information pertaining to people that you know in the work place. Bank account numbers, social security numbers and other sensitive information is in this department. There can be no question about your loyalty, intentions and integrity. If an interview suspects even one iota of dishonesty from you, you will definitely be scratched off the list of potential hires. Make sure that you are completely honest in your interviews regarding answers about yourself, questions that you may have and how you conduct your life in general.
Organization
It’s important to be organized in this job because there is a lot of information that simply can not get lost. An interviewer wants to see that you have all of your own files neatly organized and that you know exactly where everything is. If you come in, in a flurry of papers, scrambling to find things and realizing that you have forgotten or not brought the necessary papers to the interview, this is not going to look very good for you. Also bring extra copies of all of your information and all the papers that you bring in case the interviewers want to keep them in their own files of you. Keep in mind that you may have several interviewers so bring extras.
Leadership Skills
Being in HR means that you will be in leadership. The Human Resources department is thought of to be management. Your interviewer will be looking to see if you are able to command respect without being patronizing and condescending about it. Basically, power shouldn’t go to your head but you should be able to harness it and use it effectively.
Communication Skills
Communication is about listening as much as talking so make you don’t commandeer your interview. Listen to what your interviewers are saying and have questions ready to ask at the end in order to better understand.
As mentioned, these are probably characteristics that every employer is going to want. They really should be something that you adopt in to who you really are if you want to find a good position by executive HR search firms. The thing is, executive HR search firms look for the above characteristics because they are what defines a good worker and a good person. You should be able to work well with those around you as well as have enough motivation and integrity to be able to work alone, when you aren’t being micro managed. If you want to get into a position like this then you are going to have to realize that you need to be able to work under your own pressure. These kinds of jobs are not looking for people that they have to constantly hang over their shoulder and make sure they are doing their job correctly. They want people that they can trust to get the job done, whether or not the boss is watching.