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winners, high-energy contributors who defined their previous role in terms of what they contributed and not what their titles were. " 6. Engagement-minded. Over two-thirds of Americans are not engaged in their workplace. Apple management is strict on employees' level of commit- ment. Committed individuals who are inspired by a grand purpose make the whole difference in the most competi- tive conditions. 7. Excellence-minded. Steve Jobs was known for his passion of perfection. The company always tries things out until they are perfectly done. The same attitude is expected of every collaborator. Applicants who do not share that passion for excellence do not have a chance. Other Critical Attributes To Evaluate You will notice that these seven points enforced in the Apple's personnel selec- tion are all personality-related attributes, also called soft skills. They do not always guarantee performance. But the chance of selecting productive people is at least 200% higher when focusing on these vital soft skills. It is very well known that recruiters who focus on soft skills in their person- nel selection process are, on average, 50% more effective in selecting top players. So, to avoid falling in the momentary personality trap—as the hiring manager in the above example did—you should also focus on the following two basic soft skills: 1. Honesty. Did you know that one-third of all business failures in the United States are due to employee theft? Also, 95% of all U.S. companies are victims of theft, and yet only 10% ever discover it. So this is definitely a crucial criterion to evaluate. Everybody recognizes the importance of honesty, so it would make sense to evaluate it prior to evaluating any other soft skill, wouldn't it? There are strong indicators that allow you to precisely evaluate honesty. Here are just a few: gaps in the resume, contradictory data between the resume and your standard job application, negative reaction or Write in Reader Inquiry #34 July 2012 J www.coatingspromag.com 37 embarrassment from the applicant to your challenging questions, and lack of accuracy in the applicant's explana- tions of previous achievements. 2. Willingness. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 87% of employee failures are due to unwill- ingness to do the job. You can't simply force someone to do something if they do not want to. Such persons will do what you want in order to keep their jobs or to avoid penalties. But they will not really put their heart into it. Most applicants will tell you that they are willing, of course. The key to finding out if they are honest about it is to ask them to prove it. Challenge them to demonstrate that they have been willing to work hard, learn something new, question their old habits, work under tough conditions, etc… The way you do this is simply by asking them to give you specific examples when they ® had to display such willingness. So, hire the Steve Jobs way, by all means. But don't forget these two basic attributes in the same process. Inform applicants that your company's values and management philosophy imply honesty and willingness/positive attitude as primary selection criteria, no matter the position – and that a lack of either is enough to be considered unqualified! CP PATRICK VALTIN is the author of No Fail Hiring and is a 24-year veteran coach and trainer in the fields of management and human resources. He is the president of M2-TEC USA, Inc. Patrick has personally trained 85,000 business owners and executives in more than 30 countries in the past 23 years on the subjects of business strate- gies, leadership and people management, hiring, sales, and marketing. For more information, please visit www.nofailhiring.com, www.m2-tec. com or call (877) 831-2299. PosiTectorUTG Ultrasonic Thickness Gage Ideal for measuring wall thickness and the effects of corrosion or erosion on tanks, pipes or any structure where access is limited to one side. ■ Scan Mode ■ HiLo Alarm ■ Internal Memory ■ Sturdy, compact design ■ Certificate of Calibration New UTG ME Thru-Paint model available 1-800-448-3835 or www.defelsko.com %( *' + &'" , &% , $ !# ) ( # #("& &$ NEW