3 Ways to Determine if a Talent is a Good Fit for Your Company (or vice versa)

In the past few weeks, AIESEC in Malaysia has been sharing HR insights by interviewing our alumni. They have shared their experiences being an HR expert and engaging with young talent in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and telecommunication industries. Today, we are pleased to invite 4 leaders from different industries representing SMEs and Start-Ups to share their thoughts working with the youth.

Cultural Fit

According to the Youth Consultancy Report by AIESEC in Malaysia, it shows that 55.5% of youth would stay in an organization when the working culture is aligned with personal preferences. As a graduate of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Yi Chien Lim, co-founder of Homey.com.my was invited to the university’s career talk to share her experience being an entrepreneur without any business background and the challenges & learnings throughout the journey.

Moreover, Yi Chien took the opportunity to attract good quality young talents by sharing the company’s visions and values. She thinks that it is the way to keep the employees motivated and keen to develop their career path while working in the company.

Seek to Understand

Communication is the key, both verbal and non-verbal. Ying Ying Oh, director of Miracle Spectrum Sdn Bhd believes in seeking to understand the talent’s values and goals early. “In our interviews, we have honest conversations. It does not matter whether the talent is a youth or highly experienced. Everyone wants to be valued, to feel significant, to feel cared for and be trusted”, she said. An honest two-way conversation provides clarity into the role within the team. Ying Ying also personalized the role by understanding the strengths and interests of the talents. The report mentioned that 9 out of 10 youths value the conversations with their direct leaders that focuses on improving themselves through constructive feedback.

Behavioural Assessment

Zaid Azlan Klair, CHRO of Canaan Communication & Technologies Sdn Bhd said: “I look at the attitude of the talent, skills are trainable. Attitude determines how far this person can go in the future.” He showed a strong belief in “attitude is everything”. In Canaan, they require the candidate to complete a psychometric test to evaluate an individual’s cognitive ability and mental agility.

Other than that, Yik Seong Hui, the founder of Direct Lending Sdn Bhd said they are not looking for the best but the right talent that is able to face the challenge. It is shown in the report that 33.4% of young talent seeks for opportunities to learn and grow while applying for job. Yik Seong mentioned that they are willing and open to let employees experience new roles as part of their career path, which would create a new and challenging environment. Every 2-3 months, the company would have a space to review and set career goals, and break it down into small goals.

To determine a “good fit”, you need both employer and talent’s efforts to provide and evaluate the opportunity, it is a two-way process. The points we mentioned above are several factors you can’t deny to look for the good fit or right talent for the right position:

 

• Alignment on personal values & company culture and vision
• Communication skill to express thoughts and listen to understand
• Good attitude and the ability to step out of their comfort zone