Knowing good tips to help read the psychology of candidates correctly will help recruiters choose the most suitable person for the company. Thereby helping the company to get an excellent new factor, creating a foundation for solid development in the future.
Why do employers need to read candidate psychology?
Any company needs a good recruitment strategy to be able to select excellent candidates for vacant positions. Owning a good factor will create the foundation for the company’s sustainable development both now and in the future.
In fact, a “bad” recruitment strategy can cost a business a lot. From the cost of employee salaries to training time, and most of all, the costs of dealing with losses caused by unsuitable employees.
To minimize the risk of hiring the wrong person, the company needs to develop an appropriate interview program. In particular, recruiters need to know how to read candidate psychology to be able to make an informed choice.
Reading the candidate’s psychology will help employers see and better assess the candidate’s qualifications, personality and abilities to see if they are suitable for the vacancy or not. Because reality shows that sometimes being good at the profession is not enough to complete the task at work.
7 Tips to read candidate psychology correctly for recruiters
Not all recruiters are good at reading candidate psychology. Even with experienced HR (Human Resources), sometimes they still face certain difficulties in selecting potential candidates.
If you are struggling to know how to read the candidate’s psychology correctly, then immediately refer to the 7 simple tips below:
1. Observe body language
In an interview, in addition to asking questions and tests, the employer needs to have a “subtle” observation of the candidate to make an overall assessment. In particular, observing the candidate’s body language is something that any employer needs to pay attention to.
– Observe candidates:
You need to observe the body language when the candidate is speaking. Pay attention to whether the candidate’s words really match what their body shows. Besides, it is necessary to pay special attention to the eyes of the candidate, because the eyes tell you a lot about the other person. Especially grasping whether they are lying or awkward.
– Recognize the positive signs:
A candidate with a bright smile will always create positive signs. A confident person tends to sit upright or lean slightly forward. When listening, their limbs are often still and their eyes will look straight and steady on the other person.
Alternatively, recruiters can shake hands with candidates to get an instant sense of their mental state. If the candidate is comfortable and relaxed, their hands are usually dry and warm. Conversely, stressed candidates will often have cold hands and sweat a lot.
– Recognize subtle signs:
Some subtle cues can help recruiters better read candidate psychology. From there, make an informed choice for the position where the company is short of personnel. Pay attention to the state of their limbs or their gaze. At the same time, pay attention to the candidate’s voice.
2. Read the candidate’s psychology according to the “servant principle”
To find the right candidate, interviewing is always the priority choice of any employer. However, in order to read the candidate’s psychology more clearly and effectively, the employer should also refer to the “servant principle”.
The “servant principle” will help employers evaluate candidates very well through their most natural expressions. At this time, employers need to consider people such as receptionists, waiters, security guards, etc. as the main characters, playing an important role in reading the candidate.
Because in fact, the waiter will have enough favorable conditions to be able to observe the candidate objectively. As for the waiter, the candidate often behaves impartially without turning on the precaution mode. Because careless candidates always think that “servants” do not have any role in the recruitment process.
According to estimates by Acme Packet, a data collection company, the opinions of waiters influence 5 to 10% of this company’s hiring decisions. Therefore, recruiters can completely apply the principle of waiters to help read candidates’ psychology more accurately.
3. Use the MI . multiple intelligence test
The MI multiple intelligence test was studied by the American psychologist Howard Gardner. To this day, this test is still used by many companies to aid in the recruitment process. MI can help HR read the candidate more accurately.
According to Mr. Howard Gardner, each candidate will have a strength and an intelligence that is superior to others, regardless of IQ. Types of intelligence mentioned in MI include:
- Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
- Space Intelligence
- Inner Intelligence
- Movement Intelligence
- Existential Intelligence (Philosophy)
- Nature’s Intelligence
- Musical Intelligence
- Language Intelligence
The MI test has a total of 86 questions with a completion time of about 5 minutes that can help employers identify strong and weak intelligence types of candidates. From there, it effectively supports the candidate’s reading during the recruitment process.
4. Use the MBTI 16 personality type test
The MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) 16 personality test is used to analyze people’s personality. MBTI test results will show how a person perceives the world around them as well as makes decisions for all issues in life.
Employers can use MBTI to assess whether a candidate’s personality is suitable for the job and working environment of the enterprise. In fact, the MBTI test is considered to be able to assist employers in reading candidate psychology very accurately.
5. Read candidate psychology with the DISC . test
DISC is an acronym for 4 prominent personality groups of people. Consists of:
- Dominance: Power
- Influence: Influence
- Steadiness: Steadfastness
- Compliance: Compliance
The DISC test is a type of test used to assess individual behavior. DISC is widely applied in the fields of recruitment, human resource management, working environment or even personal life.
In fact, many recruiters have used the DISC test to help read candidates better. It allows HR to better understand the candidate’s personality, strengths, and weaknesses. Also know how candidates react when faced with difficulties, work in groups, solve problems.
6. Apply the STAR test
Besides MI, MBTI and DISC, STAR is also a test that can greatly assist employers in reading candidate psychology. STAR is a test developed by the Balance training consulting company. So far, this test has been used by many businesses in the recruitment process.
Some of the questions on the STAR test are built around the unique characteristics of Vietnamese people. STAR classifies candidates’ personality according to 4 factors including:
- Style (Communication style): Helps to detect if the candidate’s ability to communicate logically and persuasively is good or not?
- Time – Space (Time – Space): Help determine whether the candidate is a person who has the ability to see problems in detail or in general, has a long-term or short-term vision and especially has creative thinking?
- Analysis (Analyze the problem): Show that the candidate is a person who has the ability to analyze issues fairly, objectively or subjectively, emotionally.
- Rule (Rules): Help assess whether the candidate has the ability to plan the work and persevere in pursuing the goal?
7. Some questions to help read candidate psychology in just 5 minutes
Employers should develop a set of questions to be able to read candidate psychology accurately. Above all, this set of questions will help employers identify the necessary potential in candidates. Question groups that should be used include:
– General questions:
Common questions are often used to clarify information in a candidate’s CV. In addition, employers can ask questions to find out why the candidate wants to pursue a new position. Such as:
- How long have you worked at your old company?
- Why do you want to apply for a position in our company?
- What do you know about our company?
- Tell us about some of your hobbies?
Employers should not ask questions about weight, height, religion, gender, etc. Because these questions can make candidates feel awkward because they invade their private lives.
Behavioral questions:
This is an indispensable part of the questionnaire to read the psychology and understand more about the candidate. Most employers believe that what candidates have performed in the past is a predictor of what they will do in the future. Questions may include:
- Talk about the biggest project you’ve ever worked on?
- Talk about a major crisis at work and how you handled it?
- Talk about a situation where you used your creativity to solve a problem?
In addition, recruiters can also ask hypothetical questions. In particular, it is possible to present a future situation to examine the candidate’s behavior. Such as:
- What would you do if you found out that a coworker stole money from the company?
- You and a colleague have a personal conflict but have to work on a project together. What will you do now?
Pressure question:
Employers can use this set of questions to put candidates in a state of stress. It will then collect the candidate’s reactions in these situations to read the candidate’s psychology.
Employers may ask some sensitive questions such as:
- You have no experience in this field, so why should we choose you?
- What made you leave your previous company?
- Is your relationship with your boss and former colleagues good?
In fact, there are many good tips to help recruiters accurately read candidate psychology. However, the ultimate goal is still towards selecting the most suitable candidate for the vacant position. Thereby helping the company achieve sustainable development thanks to its excellent staff.
