So you\u2019ve decided to hire someone new to your team, and you\u2019re open to them being new or inexperienced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe you can\u2019t afford a veteran, high performer with a lengthy list of wins on their resume. Or maybe you\u2019re hungry to give back and want to help develop the next wave of great performers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever your reason, you\u2019re now looking at a high-risk, high-reward situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re bringing in someone who\u2019s relatively inexperienced, things could backfire and you could easily lose your time and money. You can spend a ton of time on a junior hire and have that turn into a failed investment. They can also damage your company\u2019s reputation with customers, frustrate other team members, and waste many resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if they are hungry and eager to learn, they can grow rapidly, becoming more and more valuable to your company every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today\u2019s post is all about recognizing the signs of a great high-potential hire and what traits you can build on to turn them into your best performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This post covers four key traits you should look for to find people who can make a difference for you and help you avoid making bad hires. They are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s see why these four characteristics are so crucial for inexperienced hires and how they enable them to develop more quickly than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attention to detail is a prerequisite for everything else on this list. If the person you\u2019re trying to hire at an early stage of their career is sloppy and unreliable now, this is a huge red flag for the future. That\u2019s because this affects how they\u2019ll execute the tasks you give them *and* their ability to learn new things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If someone doesn\u2019t have attention to detail, they\u2019ll be more likely to miss deadlines, fail to act on your feedback, and deliver subpar work, costing you precious time as you\u2019ll need to constantly supervise them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019ll also have difficulties learning new things. People who pay attention to details are more likely to figure some things out on their own, and pick up on what their colleagues may be doing that they should model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, people who are sloppy by nature will struggle and ask for your help more often. They\u2019ll also need to be reminded of what to do, and be more likely to deliver work to you that requires many more rounds of iteration than you had hoped or have time for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For all these reasons, you have to make sure you filter for this skill *before* you hire someone and realize they are missing this essential trait for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, when talking to candidates, ask yourself the following questions to understand how detail-oriented they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a person ticks all of these boxes, you\u2019re looking at someone who has high potential. However, if they aren\u2019t showing enough attention to detail, they\u2019re likely not going to produce high quality work for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If a person isn\u2019t making a good first impression by being thorough and prepared during your interview with them, it\u2019s unlikely they\u2019ll be any different after you hire them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another important characteristic of a good hire is a person\u2019s willingness to keep learning in their own free time. You\u2019re ideally looking for someone who enjoys what they do, and wants to put in the work to become even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order for someone who\u2019s young and has high potential to be a strong hire, they can\u2019t just be learning on the job. You need them to be interested in developing some of their skills independently and outside the work they do for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otherwise, the time it takes for them to level up and contribute value can be longer than you planned or can afford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can tell if a person is excited about what they do by taking a look at their previous work. For example, if you\u2019re hiring a copywriter, ask them to share their landing pages, emails, blogs, or similar pieces of content they\u2019ve created. You can also ask if they\u2019ve had any training and what areas they feel are strengths and where they hope to be coached and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not having any experience shouldn\u2019t necessarily eliminate a candidate. However, someone who can showcase a bit of their work in a relevant area is more likely to have high potential. Even if it\u2019s simply a few bits of work they did for a portfolio, or small project for a friend, that initiative to try and apply what their learning is a big positive sign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"high](\"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/image-2-1024x553.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to find the most high potential employees in your hiring process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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![\"high](\"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot_11-1024x680.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTrait #1: Attention to detail<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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![\"high](\"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/image-1-1024x682.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTrait #2: Eagerness and hunger to learn specifically related to core parts of the job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Actions > Words. Look at examples of what they\u2019re already doing.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n