There are certain characteristics that every employer will look for in an employee such as dedication, diligence, honesty, etc. However, there is one characteristic that may be overlooked from time to time; consistency. When you are recruiting top talent you may think about consistency in the aspect of an employee that has a continuous streak of positive results, but do you ever think about career behavior patterns?

When recruiting top talent, behavior patterns and consistency can help supplement the pertinent information that you need to know about a particular candidate such as qualifications, results, motivations, etc. Candidates may rehearse their interview answers and possesses the ability to eloquently articulate the reasoning behind each potential hiccup in their background, but at the end of the day, actions tend to speak louder than words. We have compiled a short list of items to keep in mind to help identify career behavioral patterns when recruiting talent.

• Has your candidate been with their last four previous companies for exactly two years before leaving for the next opportunity? Note that it may not be a long term play to join your organization.
• Has your candidate been constantly laid off from multiple positions in their career? Sure, there are strings of bad luck for everyone out there, but do all of the pieces fit?
• Does their resume match with their LinkedIn page? Do the dates and responsibilities line up?
• Is there a change in their communication pattern? If they typically take your call or return a message same day, but start to let two or three days go without getting back with you, something may be off.
• Are they consistent throughout the interview process with their credentials such as degree level achieved and compensation details? If not, that may reveal a potential character flaw.

This is not an exhaustive list of things to keep an eye out for when it comes to consistency. Remember to look for the positive consistencies in your candidate as well. Do they consistently meet goals? Great. Do they go above and beyond to help the team? Great. The goal is to hire a qualified candidate that can deliver results for your company, not eliminate all candidates from consideration. Chances are, you may have hired a qualified candidate with a hiccup or two in the past and they turned out to be an extraordinary addition.