Gone are the days when applicants were reviewed based only on their academic scores and professional work experiences. The organization is not just hiring the right candidate but they are now keen to hire a candidate with the right attitude. Behavioral sensitivity becomes the key parameter for recruiting new employees for which Organizations do rigorous reference checks.
5 unusual checks conducted for new recruits
- Social media check: The inquiry of a candidate’s digital footprint is becoming a new trend to check the potential behavioral issues in the candidate. There were few incidents reported by renowned search firms where candidates were outrightly rejected based on their social media post and engagement as the organization found their posts to be racial and unacceptable ethically. So as candidates, we need to be very careful of what we are posting on social media as it may reflect traits which are unacceptable by hiring managers.
- Substance abuse: There were times when the company was only looking for desired skills set to hire a candidate. Now when organizations are becoming more and more value-based place, any kind of unhealthy habit can cost your job during the screening process. Many companies have zero-tolerance toward substance abuse i.e. the addiction to any kind of illicit drugs which may trigger negative behavior at the workplace. Companies do keep track of the candidate drug addicted behavior and instantly raise the red flag if the candidate is caught in the incident of misbehavior or brawling under the effect of alcohol or drug during the reference check.
- Indifference attitude: It is rightly said by someone that, true gentlemen would treat the waiter the same way as he’s treating his own guest. A recent incident reported in Times of India (July 2019), states that how rude behavior of CEO candidate toward the company’s driver cost his own job. Such action of an organization reveals that how management has zero-tolerance toward hostile behavior of their prospective employees at a leadership role. Further, hiring spoke person revealed that the company felt if the candidate cannot maintain calm at such level how he’s going to run the business further. So your attitude towards any person can be a parameter of hiring assessment. Be cautious and learn to be calm!
- Physical Fitness – Companies invest a lot on their employees throughout work life, so it becomes essential to review the candidate’s physical fitment during the hiring process. Rejection of candidates based on poor physical fitness can be seen as how companies are keen to hire physically fit people. Most of the companies have pre-medical checkup which assesses various health parameters based on candidate work profile. So before applying for any jobs, it is advisable to consider your physical health.
- Racial Behaviour: Companies have zero-tolerance for any kind of discrimination toward any caste, creed, religion or gender. A recent report of rejection of candidate at director level owing to his racial post on social media is an affirmative example that how organization closely review the engagement and behavior of their prospective candidate towards the society. Ms. Shailaja Dutt (Founder and Chairperson) affirmed that the easy accessibility of candidate information’s through digital footprints assist corporate to review potential risk during the hiring process.
So we have to understand that companies are keen to hire constructive minds rather than a disruptive one!!!!!
Rightly stated, “Hire right, because the penalties of hiring wrong are huge.”- Ray Dalio (Founder – Bridgewater Associates)
Soumya Sahadevan
Research Associate, ICoFP
