The 5 Qualities Recruiters Look for in Interview Answers during an interview, what do recruiters and hiring managers truly want to hear from you? If you’re in the middle of a job search and are being honest, you’ve considered this question. After all, looking for work might feel like an audition for America’s Got Talent at times. However, you will not be required to sing, dance, or perform magic tricks during your next job interview. It will necessitate that you prepare and enter with your eyes wide open.

Here are five attributes and characteristics that recruiters and career experts say they want to see in you to help you prepare for any interview. Consider these important attributes that recruiters want to observe while you polish your interview replies and iron your best suit.

1. Communication of Motivations and Preferences

Recruiters are on the lookout for qualified applicants who match their company’s culture. It pays to be open about your objectives, expectations, and work-life preferences, such as how far you’re prepared to commute or whether you’re interested in flexible work possibilities, in this job market. As a result, don’t be surprised if hiring managers or recruiters ask you questions like “Why are you seeking for a new job?” “How far will you have to commute?” and “How long will it take you to commute?” Do you prefer the city, the suburbs, or the countryside?” (5 Qualities Recruiters Look for in Interview Answers)

2. Confidence in Skill and Experience

Hiring managers are keen to elicit a candidate’s knowledge, experience, skills, and abilities in order to identify a common thread that runs across all of your previous work experiences. As a result, you can make a strong hiring case by describing the specifics of your most significant career successes and contributions.

Preparing anecdotes and short instances of your impact will make a favorable impression on everyone with whom you may be interviewed. You should be able to demonstrate your capacity to improve the department or organization from where they started using specific examples. Did you manage to cut costs or streamline a process? Have you ever led a team to measurable success?

“We employ, retain, and promote people who contribute to the success of a business,” says Bill McCabe, Polyglass USA’s recruitment leader. “A candidate should be able to simply express how they shifted the needle in an organization in a good direction.”

Share explicit data about the projects you were assigned, the hurdles you encountered, and the actions you did as well as the end result.

3. Preparation for Proceeding Further in the Process

The average time of a job interview process, according to Glassdoor research, is 23.8 days. Some industries, on the other hand, are able to screen candidates rapidly, whereas others rely on more time-consuming and intensive interview processes. As a result, recruiters seek applicants that are ready to move quickly through the hiring and interview process.

In order to keep the process moving, it’s a good idea to maintain track of relevant references. In today’s digital environment, having up-to-date email addresses – as well as LinkedIn URLs and other methods of communicating with references – is essential.

Also, be ready to talk about your salary expectations at any time. Knowing your worth with a tool like Know Your Worth can keep you informed and ready to negotiate at any time. This will also allow the recruiter to appropriately connect you with the relevant hiring firm prospects, reducing the likelihood of either party being caught off guard and maximizing everyone’s time.

4. Be Honest and Reflective about Professional Failures or Shortcomings to Show How You’ve Grown

“What was your biggest failure?” is a popular interview question asked by hiring managers in the later phases of the process. Successfully answering this question and others like it demonstrates that you are able to honestly reflect on your career struggles.

To respond, be open and honest with yourself about your work challenges. Self-awareness is a soft skill that is becoming more in demand in the job.

After that, tell the interviewer how you dealt with the flaw or shortcoming. Perhaps you immediately acknowledged the flaw, then devised a strategy for avoiding issues as they arose and recalibrating the scope as necessary. Alternatively, after the failure, you may have attended a training course or worked with a mentor. Make a point of mentioning the actions you’ve taken. Identifying and tackling a problem displays maturity and growth.

To conclude the story, avoid blaming people or becoming unduly angry when speaking. “We all make mistakes. McCabe argues, “How we fail today demonstrates how successful we might be in the future.”

5. Be Transparent About What It Will Take to Poach You

Recruiters are poaching currently employed people left and right as a result of the low jobless rate. Recruiters must encourage you to listen to them in order to attract prospects, and this inspiration often comes in the shape of a competitive salary.

If a recruiter tries to entice you with a job, it’s critical that you communicate with the organization in a respectful and professional manner. Be honest about what you’d need to leave your current job: a higher pay, access to an onsite gym, access to education and training, a more flexible work schedule, etc.

Because it’s a job seeker’s market, be honest and receptive to whatever offer the interested employer makes. You might be astonished if a recruiter says, “Show me the money.” Positive communication is crucial for preserving a solid reputation, regardless of the offer and whether you are interested in being poached or not.