The Interview X-Factor

Since last fall I've been recruiting for a school so after seeing multiple resumes and doing several interviews I asked myself, "What's that ONE THING that stands out as a candidate?"

I'm a firm believer that resumes aren't a good judge of talent. It's similar to having a Driver's license...just because you have one doesn't mean you're a good driver. Everything is exposed when you interview. Whether face to face or over the phone within the first five minutes you can tell whether you have a great candidate or not.

So what is that ONE THING? Confidence. Not arrogance. Not ego. It's confidence knowing who you are. Clarity about your strengths and weaknesses. It's knowing your style and what results it brings. You can hear it in someone's voice. You can see it in the way they carry themselves. Confident people's self-assessment is the same as the way others see them. Confidence brings results and breeds trust from others. Confident people can do the job, because they've done it before. If they don't have the experience, they have the drive to figure it out. Confidence is multi-sensory. Hard to describe, easy to recognize.

I'm not downplaying experience or education by any means, but when you're the interviewer confidence separates a good from great candidate. On a scale of 1 - 10 how confident are you?