Determination, Better Than Perseverance

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

I’m often asked what is the single most valuable feature a candidate brings to the table when competing for a job.

I remember when I was recruiting, a candidate that emerged with this wonderful intangible of wide eyed determination always jumped out and became a good prospect for me to present to my client.  Not always the most polished perhaps, or educated, or experienced, but a candidate that showed dogged determination was hard to dismiss.

Don’t confuse determination with perseverance. While I ALWAYS applaud perseverance, the two are different. Perseverance has persistence as a fundamental element to it’s meaning… repeating  behavior, doggedness.  The act of a candidate simply doing nothing more than continuing to call me and ask if s/he got the job got monotonous. It turned  from persistence into being pestiferous. Not always, but like Jimmy Buffet says, it’s a fine line between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, much like the fine line between persistence and being a pest.

Determination is a mindset. It’s a persona of it’s own. There is creativity in determination. There is inquisitive behavior and resilience when things go south. They gracefully help me, help them. There is focus from a determined candidate, a laser like interest impossible to ignore. Determination is not casual, it’s not taught in sales school.  Determination comes from the gut.  And it shows. It’s subtle, but it’s noticed. Determination isn’t always about winning. That’s not the issue.  It’s about being the best. Winning is a byproduct of being the best.

I’m not saying that the determined candidate always got the job with my clients.  Of course not. But the determined candidate was always in the hunt. S/he knew s/he had the goods or didn’t. But determination is a funny thing.  They aren’t put off easily.  There seemed to be a common denominator with them. They actually believed in themselves, and they knew they had the character, intent and credentials to do the job. A determined candidate, when they confided in me that perhaps they didn’t have all the job description match ups, it wasn’t a signal for them to retreat, or lessen their enthusiasm, or apologize.  Rather it was a request for me to pull  for them and me to push their case to the client because they knew in their hearts they were the best candidate for the job.

And you know, if they were close at all, I would do just that. I would always assemble a short list for my clients. In the short list ranking the client might have asked for 5 candidates.  I would slip in the determined candidate as an addition to the top five, a wild card, the # 6, if you will. Well, it always didn’t work out for the less qualified but determined candidate. And if they fell short, the candidate took it with poise. And set their jaw to take that enthusiasm to their next encounter with another recruiter or HR or company.

And, if the determined candidate has the job description match up, I’d put my money on them everytime.  And in the long run, I’d be money ahead.

I love the determined candidate and encourage anyone engaged with a struggle for a quality job to look in the mirror and see if the face looking back shows determination.

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