What should weigh more heavily during a hiring process: what's on your resume or who you are as a person? In competency-based recruitment, your previous work experience is less relevant. Instead, the focus is on matching the candidate's qualities, behaviour and experiences with a clear requirement profile.

Hire for attitude - train for skills

Competency-based recruiting is gaining ground in HR land. The personality traits of the applicant are then assessed on equal terms as previous experiences. More and more attention is being paid to candidates who are able to quickly solve problems and find new ways. Education and previous experience are therefore no longer the determining factor when it comes to who gets the job.

Unlock a new candidate pool

A large body of research shows that a person's problem-solving ability can predict how quickly he or she will be able to learn new tasks and process complex information. It is therefore not surprising that problem-solving skills also determine whether a jobseeker has the qualities to succeed in a certain position – even if he or she has no previous experience. “We usually say that problem-solving tests measure the ability to know what to do when you don't know what to do”, said Alex Tidgård, organisational consultant and product developer at Assessio.

A combination of lowering requirements (such as experience, education or language) and using problem-solving tests, personality tests and structured interviews unlocks a whole new pool of candidates. It increases the chance of finding the right person for the position. By paying more attention to the personal qualities and potential of the candidates, you also reduce the risk of applicants being rejected because of prejudice and gut feeling.

Personal qualities immediately reveal the potential

Another advantage of hiring someone based on qualities rather than experience is that it is possible to plan the career during the recruitment. “The person can still start with an entry-level position, but the results of the tests show that you immediately know that the new employee has great potential to grow within the company in a relatively short period of time”, says Alex.

You get what you write

How the vacancy is formulated partly determines the type of applicant you receive. With an ad based on a clear set of requirements, those looking for this job are more likely to have the qualities and potential you're looking for.

Increase the chance of finding the right person

“Focus on the behaviours and personal qualities that are important for success in the position and use methods that best measure them, such as personality tests, problem-solving tests, and competency-based interviews”, says Alex. “If the role requires the person to regularly give a lecture or conduct training sessions, it is easier if he or she is comfortable with public speaking, being seen and being the centre of attention. Using tests, we can examine the likelihood of the person exhibiting the behaviour we are looking for. This significantly increases the chance that you will find the right person for the job.”

Use personality tests early in the recruitment process

One way to streamline the selection process is to quickly filter out those who do not meet the requirements and then proceed directly to the test to examine the candidates' base potential.

“If you want to be an open-minded recruiter, you have to test as early as possible in the process, that way you give all candidates the same conditions and you don't have to spend extra time going through resumes or reading motivation letters”, says Alex. “Instead, you can spend time on more effective and objective methods that make it easier to match the candidate with the position. Using our tools, it is possible to obtain information that, compared to traditional recruitment, is more likely to tell which candidate actually has the best attributes for success in a future role.