Fitting personality to job is challenging. We recommend working with a coach experienced in EQ for help with this. Assessments always need good interpretation.

THE TALENTS

The StrengthsFinder® profile, from Gallup organization, is not well-known yet, but a dynamite profile in hands of an expert interpreter. It will tell you person’s top 5 innate talents (which, combined with expertise, education and training equal a “strength”), in new terms such as Focus, Deliberativeness, Relator, WOO (winning others over), Maximizer, Futuristic, Harmony, and Positivity.

How does this work? I worked with a venture capitalist who wanted to hire someone who would do due diligence so important in this field. Deliberativeness is exactly quality he needs in this person. People with this strength do “due diligence” on everything, as naturally as you draw a breath. They are innately cautious, look for loopholes, examine things carefully, and anticipate problems. Combine this with a strength such as Focus, or Intellection, and you have your due diligence person.

Another example, according to studies, single best predictor of a good salesperson is an optimistic attitude, and this is encompassed in strength called Positivity.

The assessment will give person’s top 5 strengths. How they combine is also crucial. If you have Positivity, WOO and Activator, you may have a used car salesman, good for initial sale but then they move on to other things. If you have Positivity, WOO, and Empathy or Communicator, you may have someone who can build long-term relationships in sales.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

One of most important things to know about is person’s emotional intelligence. This is apart from cognitive ability, degrees and skills. It means how they handle themselves and other people in social and emotional areas. The best qualified person on paper may be a total failure in real life because they can’t get along, are abrasive, scattered, emotionally out-of-control, or lacking in empathy, creativity, flexibility, or intuition. Yes, intuition is an EQ competency, because data will run out. No matter how many facts we gather, and how much we analyze it, there comes a point where we have to go with a gut feeling, and to go with one, you have to have one and be in touch with it.

Emotional intelligence assessments give you valuable information about a candidate. People with low EQ burn out quickly. Also certain of competencies relate to certain kinds of jobs, which a coach can help you understand better.

For instance, US Air Force found that their most successful recruiters scored high in EQ competencies of Assertiveness, Empathy, Happiness and Emotional Self Awareness. Using this information to select recruiters in future, they increased their success rate by 300% and saved $3 million annually. [“Military Recruiting: The Department of Defense Could Improve Its Recruiter Selection and Incentive Systems,” report to Congress, 1998, Business Case for Emotional Intelligence, Cary Cherniss, Ph.D.]

An Emotional Intelligence assessment gives an overall score, and then scores on separate competencies. You can select for exactly what you’re looking for, and also know what this person needs to develop in future for maximal performance. To develop EQ, take a course such as The EQ Foundation Course© and work with a coach individually.

A person with low EQ is far less likely to reach potential you’ll see in their training, experience and education or IQ. EQ may account for up to 80% of factors which make a person successful. It matters more higher up person goes. More demanding jobs are more demanding because of people skills involved, “soft” skills. Leadership, visioning, strategizing, stress management, conflict resolution, and resilience become more important, not less important.

Work emotional intelligence into hiring process, and pay attention to innate talents and personality as well more obvious. It will pay great dividends in end.

1. Be someone that they really enjoy as a person and as a vendor.

2. Call your Client each quarter to ask if they’re having any problems or challenges with their organization. 3. Continually improve your product or service.

4. Keep your client informed about future changes and upgrades about product/service they bought.

5. Keep your client informed about what media and other clients are saying about your service/product.

6. Educate your client on making most of your product/service.

7. Do unexpected, again and again.

8. Create a “special client-only” club or group that gets extra things e.g. autographed books, audio tapes, and special invitations - anything worthwhile.

9. Be 6-24 months ahead of competition - and stay there.

10. Use high tech, low tech, no tech to keep your name in front of your clients. After all, they are ones who will bring you business.