All recruiters want to hire great people. They have the daunting task of sorting through hundreds of applications and identify a potential candidate even before they’ve proven how great they can be.

The challenge is how to pick out great candidates from mediocre ones, based on what they tell you from their cover letter, resume and interview. They can be good on paper, but it can’t be a guarantee that they will perform well when they become employees.

Great employees have a few key things in common and you should keep a lookout on these top five traits when weeding through stacks of resumes for your next great hire:

1. They’ve done their research on what you need, and it shows.

Nothing shows a poor candidate than receiving a generic cover letter that doesn’t really answer your job advertisement. If they could not even go the extra mile of crafting a customized application letter, then you can’t expect them to go the extra mile for your company.

Great applicants take the time to actually read through your job posting and craft their cover letter in reference to your selection criteria. They would take the time to research a few things about you, the requirements of the job and what you need from them. They will not beat around the bush, but be direct to the point on how they can give you what you need from an employee.

2. They know their weakness, but also know how to turn them into opportunities.

Wharton professor Adam Grant noted in his book, Originals, that one of the most telling indicators of success is the readiness to accept your potential weaknesses and the ability to explain how you can turn them into opportunities.

A good candidate is upfront about the qualifications that they don’t meet but can explain how they can do the job regardless of this weakness. They are open to further training to make themselves better employees, and you would always want someone like this to be a part of your team.

3. They stand out with unconventional application methods.

A lot of people are applying for the same job, so a smart candidate knows how to stand out in the sea of resumes. It can be in the form of a resume as chocolate bar wrapping or a CV in an unconventional layout, candidates with serious potential know that to stand out from the competition, they need to break a few rules.

Candidates who come up with unconventional application methods also show that they are innovators and are willing to experiment with new methods in order to achieve their goal. These are the people that you would want to recruit to become part of your company.

4. They are upfront about who they are.

Great candidates tell you exactly who they are the first time you meet them so you know exactly what kind of person you’re dealing with. This saves both parties time and effort, because then you will know if you’re interested in potentially hiring this candidate.

These people can be intimidating at first, but there’s often serious talent with candidate like this. They are self-aware and know what they can offer to improve your company.

People like this will be good team leaders because of their awareness in people’s potentials and have the audacity to push people to perform.

5. They keep it real.

Finding talent willing to be authentic with you from the beginning is a hard task to accomplish. The ones who will stand out from the rest and will, ultimately, be good for business.
They don’t overhype their resume with fancy words, but they show how they were able to achieve results in their past projects. They don’t overpromise but set realistic and measurable promises for when they get hired.

Finding and hiring great talent is no mean feat, but it’s not that impossible. Recruiters should learn how to identify potential talent by thinking outside the box and have a recruitment process that enables them to identify potential talents.

Start with these top five traits when poring through all your applications, and chances are, you will stumble upon a few who will definitely make for a great addition to your company.

Do you know of any traits of a potential great hire? Share them in the comments section below.