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5 essential attributes you can't read from a CV

What qualities do you value most when recruiting new employees for your company? Is it good experience? Relevant education? Or maybe something else entirely? And where do you actually find information about your candidates before you've had the opportunity to meet them in person?

What the expert says

Jan Leschly is a member of the board of directors at A.P. Moller-Maersk, a former professional tennis player and former CEO of the pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beecham. Jan Leschly believes that you should recruit for five essential qualities that a CV cannot reveal because they can only be decoded by meeting applicants face-to-face. But what are these five attributes that a CV can't reveal and why are they so important? You can learn a lot more about them right here.

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From the tennis court to the boardroom: Who is Jan Leschly?

Jan Leschly has had a remarkable career in both tennis and business. Leschly started his career in the sports world, where he was one of the top ten tennis players in the world. After gaining massive success in the sports world, Leschly made a bold decision to utilize his many talents in another world - the business world.

Leschly's journey began in management at Novo Nordisk and eventually led him to the role of CEO of global pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beecham. Throughout his career, Leschly has had the pleasure of working with thousands of talented, dedicated and highly skilled employees - all of whom had many impressive positions on their resumes.

However, Jan Leschly emphasizes that the five most important qualities of these employees were not among the items on the CV. Jan Leschly believes that the five most important qualities an employee can possess in a successful company team are the inner values:

1. A high energy level

According to Leschly, when the right candidate walks through the door, you feel it immediately: "I look for high energy in my management team - there's no room to rest on your laurels or fall asleep during meetings."

Employees with good, high energy levels are key to the success of your business. This is because high-energy employees often have a solid drive and an ability to spread enthusiasm, engagement and proactivity in the workplace. You can recognize these individuals by their eagerness to take on and solve the tasks they encounter with optimism and courage.

Energized employees also help to create a positive atmosphere in the workplace. Their enthusiasm and passion can rub off on others, resulting in a more motivated and productive team.

Finding candidates with the right energy level isn't just about finding those who speak the loudest or work the fastest. It's about identifying those who have an enduring passion for their work and are able to bring that energy into their tasks and relationships at work.

2. The ability to bring humor into work life

Is there anything worse than a management meeting without humor? Leschly would never hire someone he hasn't had a good laugh with during the interview: "It's important to be able to laugh together, have fun and even cry together if necessary."

A sense of humor isn't just reserved for stand-up comedians - it's also a valuable quality in a professional context. Humor has the potential to transform a workplace. It can help ease tension among employees, improve team dynamics and create a more relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Employees with a good sense of humor can help bring positive energy into the work environment, boost morale and improve overall productivity.

In addition, humor can also be an indicator of a person's social skills. An applicant who knows how to use humor appropriately shows empathy and the ability to read other people. These are all important qualities in people - and not least in employees. Professional networks like LinkedIn and an effective recruitment system can help you identify these potential candidates.

3. Authenticity and sincerity

"Be a decent human being! How do you find out? You certainly can't read it from a CV or application. I always asked my trusty executive assistant to have a chat with the candidate before he or she came in. How would he treat her and what would he talk about? If my assistant could tell that the candidate wasn't treating her with the same welcoming attitude that he was treating me, then he could forget about hiring.

And if during the conversation with my assistant and later with me, he hadn't mentioned his family, the fact that he had children and how important it is to balance working intensely and having a good family life at the same time, then he wouldn't be interesting either. I've seen too many situations where marriages break up and people fall apart. You simply can't do your job if you don't have peace at home."

4. Good judgment

A CV can tell you a lot about a candidate's professional skills, but it can't show you how they apply those skills in practice. Leschly emphasizes the importance of having solid judgment in business contexts:

"Your appearance at the job interview is one. That you know how to present yourself as a match for the company? And then, of course, you can hear the candidate's assessment of specific business examples and what he or she would do in this or that situation. So you get a sense of judgment."

Good judgment is essential in business as it is this ability that ensures we make the right decisions under pressure and in uncertain situations. This requires both analytical skills, the ability to understand complex contexts and a skill to anticipate potential consequences of different courses of action.

Good judgment is about more than just making decisions - it's about making the best decisions. A person with good judgment can see the bigger picture, take considered risks and balance different interests to find the most appropriate solution. That's why good judgment is important to consider when recruiting.

5. Street smart

You may have extremely intelligent employees who on the resume seem like your perfect candidates. However, these people can be useless in practice if they are not communicative or can't read a room. Leschly describes this as follows:

"You can hire employees who are extremely intelligent and yet completely useless! You've all met geniuses who are impossible in a team; I've always preferred the team to the genius. I don't need one person to come in and say: I'm so great. I don't just want my employees to be smart - I want them to be 'street smart'! That means they need to be able to use their intellect to match and to intervene where there is a need."

Leschly has learned that the good employee is not just book smart - but also street smart. They must be able to use their intellect to integrate and add value to the existing team.

With these five criteria, Jan Leschly created a company culture that valued the team and the team player above all. Finding the right people requires more than just a glance at a CV. That's why you should consider complementing your recruitment tool with an effective recruitment systemthat can help you find the best talent.

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