All of us humans – also us digital transformation professionals – are more than just our technical skills. Technical skills are naturally in focus when you’re hiring someone to help you with a specific problem or task. They are, however, only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full human potential of the person. “OK, that’s nothing new” you might think but have you ever thought about all the potential under the technical surface?
By the hidden potential of any professional, I mean the transferable skills. These can also be called core skills – something that resides and grows in our core and can be utilized in any situation regardless of the context, role or subject being discussed. Depending on the reference there can be found a bit different lists of transferable skills but here’s a list I find valuable for professionals helping their customers drive their initiatives:
- Communication skills such as listening, writing and presentation
- Interpersonal skills like empathy, flexibility and emotional intelligence
- Organizational skills such as time management, goal setting, prioritizing and research
- Analytical skills such as critical thinking and problem solving
- Leadership and teamwork skills
I bet these are all skills that you’d like to see in people around you (as well as in yourself). They are also skills you should be looking for in any professional you’re about to hire either to your own company or to help you as a consultant. Technical skills are the easy ones to compare and in many cases, they become the ones the hiring decisions are based on. Transferable skills are, however, the skills that ultimately define the success and pleasantness of your co-operation. High potential of transferable skills predicts longer and more productive co-operation.
How to discover the hidden potential and how Gofore is doing that
“I got your point but how can I know if someone possesses a mountain of transferable skills?” -you probably think next. That’s something where you need to spend time talking with the person and finding hints and clues. You should pay attention to how people behave, what they are interested in talking about, how they approach problems, what do they have to say about other people, what they like to do in their free time, and so on.
As a fresh Goforean I’m really glad about the recruitment process I just went through. There were two phases and in my opinion they were in the right order. The first interview was purely about having a talk with a couple of potential future colleagues to find out my “cultural fit” with Gofore. That interview served also the purpose of getting to know each other and thus having the important clues about the transferable skills I’ve been talking about in this post. Only after having that talk and both parties willing to move forward together, there was the second interview focusing on the technical skills and previous professional experience.
Now – I mean really now like in five minutes – I want you to do one of the following things:
a) Beam yourself to Join the Crew, find your position, try the recruitment process yourself and join the Gofore crew!
or
b) Face your pressing digitalization problems, find your first contact here Get in touch and let’s start a smashing project together!
