Soft skills

One Trait Great Candidates Share — and How to Spot It

Photo of Angela Duckworth
Angela Duckworth, author and CEO at Character Lab

There’s a word for candidates who embody many of the soft skills — passion, perseverance, humility, grace under pressure, and goal-setting — you’re looking for. That word is gritty — and gritty candidates make for dedicated, high-performing employees.

The concept of grit as a positive personality trait was pioneered by psychologist Angela Duckworth, whose 2016 book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance was a New York Times bestseller and whose six-minute TED Talk on the subject has been viewed 25 million times.

Now, Angela will bring her own passion and perspective to Forward, a global LinkedIn Live event for talent professionals on March 29 (and March 30 for attendees in Asia Pacific). Angela will be the moderator for the event, which will bring together talent leaders to discuss the challenges of the Great Reshuffle, with particular focus on company culture and skill building. 

For her research into grit, Angela won a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, the so-called “genius grant” — which was rich in irony because when she was growing up her scientist father frequently pointed out that she was no “genius.” Her research included visits with cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, teachers in some of her country’s toughest school districts, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. 

“In all those very different contexts,” Angela tells her TED audience, “one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn’t social intelligence. It wasn’t good looks, physical health, and it wasn’t IQ. 

“It was grit.”

Let’s look at how recruiters can home in on candidates who possess grit and who will thrive no matter what you — or the world — throws at them.

Talk to candidates as much about their failures as their successes

People with grit have lived a little. They usually have a few setbacks under their belts, leading them to experience what psychologists call post-traumatic growth. That’s when a serious disappointment or setback (say, not getting your dream job) causes you to undergo a positive shift in your thinking and adapt future behavior accordingly.

Probe candidates about their failures as much as their successes, advises positive psychology expert Caroline Adams Miller, who explored grit in her own book Getting Grit: The Evidence-Based Approach to Cultivating Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose

Being able to admit mistakes reveals a lot about a candidate’s strengths and perseverance, while striving to appear perfect is a serious red flag.

Consider ‘unselling’ your opening as a challenge from the get-go

Gritty candidates don’t shy away from hard work (and the stress that accompanies it), because they’ve been through the experience of trying and failing and emerged more prepared and determined than ever.

“Many of us it seems,” Angela writes in Grit, “quit what we start far too early and far too often. Even more than the effort a gritty person puts in on a single day, what matters is that they wake up the next day, and the next, ready to get on that treadmill and keep going.”

So, be straight with your candidates about the toughest aspects of the role and see if they flinch. Don’t be afraid to unsell the job by positioning it as challenging from the get-go. For a gritty candidate, this can make it all the more appealing.

Find out what candidates have done when the pressure is highest

Another simple way to zero in on grit in a team setting is to probe. “When you interview people,” Caroline says, “you want to find out what they’ve done to make other people better.”

Ask for stories that will reveal whether candidates have held it together under pressure. But also consider the times they did lose it and how they responded. Did they learn a lesson for next time? Do they have a sense of humor or perspective about it now?

Ask candidates about their outside pursuits

A key component of grit is passion, and one of the best ways to uncover a person’s passion is by looking at that last section of their resume — hobbies.

A hobby isn’t the same as an interest. Interests are fun, but they can be passive (like binge-watching your favorite TV series). A hobby or passion requires you to be proactive and involved — like quilting or gardening or playing a musical instrument. A candidate’s passion project can reveal how they lean into delayed gratification, goal-setting, and risk-taking.

Final thoughts: Entice gritty candidates with growth opportunities

When you’ve figured out which candidates have the grit you’re looking for, reel them in by emphasizing continuous learning — and by showing that your company has the tools and willingness to help employees grow.

Gritty candidates already have a growth mindset. They want to get better — and better — over time, a win-win for them and your company.

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals,” Angela says in her TED Talk. “Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

By zeroing in on grit as a trait you want to hire for, you can lessen your dependence on resumes and past experience. This will help reduce unconscious bias toward impressive pedigree, and it will make it easier to find candidates who actively seek challenges, optimize themselves, and embrace mutual success.

To hear more from Angela and talent leaders from around the world, as well as LinkedIn chief economist Karin Kimbrough and LinkedIn chief people officer Teuila Hanson, join us for Forward on March 29 (or 30). You can register by following this link and then clicking on the “Register now” button.

*Photo from AngelaDuckworth.com

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