Soft-spokenness is a red flag I see in job candidates

Omar Asali is reluctant to hire the workers they are talking about.

The workers too self promotion and beware of saying the “right words” is usually about themselves, rather than their organization or the people around them. red flag in the hiring processsays Asali, 53, CEO of the eco-focused packaging company ramps.

“You have to be careful with people who are always talking and very pushy,” says Asali, who is managing Ranpa — which has a 2019 market value of $661.06 million as of Monday afternoon. “I’m not hiring. I hire people because their presentation skills are terrible because I usually have tasks and jobs to do.”

In such a large company, Asali is not always involved in every hiring decision. But when hiring “very senior managers,” it’s a good idea to discuss work-related and work-related issues with candidates. The better you get to know them, the easier it will be to identify whether they are “doers” or “speakers,” he says.

“I’m not the type of person who will hire me because I’ve done one, two or three shifts,” Asali says. “We’ll have meals, we’ll talk about social things; try to understand these people and their backgrounds before you bring me.”

At the interview table, Asali often gives candidates what she calls a “very insightful” prompt: Tell me 10 words that immediately come to mind that describe who you are. Most people respond quickly, and their casual responses can reveal aspects of their professional and social personalities more effectively than anything they’ve prepared for the interview beforehand, he says.

“The more honest I came across, the more honest I was, the more I enjoyed the conversation,” says Asali. “You’d be surprised at the people I hired, they were quite open and vulnerable about themselves.”

Asali is not the only interviewer to ask questions that probe people’s self-awareness and ego control.

Kickstarter’s CEO, Everette Taylor, for example, urges candidates discuss a mistake or a time they failed. People who recognize their own shortcomings and take responsibility for their response show a strong ability to work with others, he told CNBC Make It in August, adding that those who lack self-awareness “really struggle” with prompting.

But few people are fully aware of it, which is why Taylor herself works tirelessly to better understand her strengths and weaknesses.

“I try to keep my ego at the door. I’m wrong all the time. I have a great team that’s really smart and will put me in my place, and I love that,” he said.

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