Recommended for Small and Medium-Sized Business Recruiters: Seeing the ”Root of a Person's Heart” in Interviews

What you learn as a child lasts a lifetime.

「What you learn as a child lasts a lifetime.This is about the famous proverb, "A person's character is formed in their early years and never changes throughout their life." I believe that having a "lion's heart" is an extremely important point when it comes to hiring.

There was once a client who said, "When we hire someone, we always visit their parents' home!" At the time, I just thought, "Wow, they're really determined," and "They have an incredible sense of family," but now, looking back, I can understand why. If I recall correctly, the reason they gave was that you can get a good sense of a person by visiting their parents' home. They said, "Whether their parents are businesspeople, salaried workers, or civil servants, you can get a rough idea of their life's path, even though you can't generalize. And by looking at the front door, you can get a sense of how they were raised." That company also said,What you learn as a child lasts a lifetime.It seems they were conscious of that.

A person's background can be a criterion for determining whether they are a good fit for the company culture and the job.

A story that's a bit like psychology.

Through the numerous encounters and partings that have occurred during the hiring process, I have come to understand "people" in a deeper way. Among these, one of the most significant is:How to view a person's roots, the very foundation of their heart.That's the reason. For various reasons,People who carry unresolved issues from their childhood into adulthood unconsciously repeat those mistakes in the workplace.They tend to do this. For example, someone who felt they didn't receive enough love from their mother during childhood and couldn't overcome that challenge during adulthood may see their female boss at work as a mother figure. They may act spoiled or rebellious in an attempt to monopolize her affection. In a common case, if other colleagues continue to succeed, they may even try to attract attention by repeatedly failing themselves. They don't do it consciously, but rather believe they behave this way subconsciously. Conversely, someone who grew up feeling they didn't receive enough love from their father unconsciously behaves spoiled towards male colleagues. On the other hand, they can behave as equals towards female colleagues (who they see as mother figures), which can create awkward situations among female colleagues. Also, if someone has intensely hated or resented their parents from childhood to the present, they tend to interpret things in their own way and have an extreme lack of sincerity.

Looking at the roots means looking at compatibility.

As a fundamental principle, every person has their own life, and it should be respected. However, the behavioral characteristics shaped by that person's life do not necessarily align with our company or our work. If there is a good match, both parties will be happy, and there is nothing to complain about, but if there is a mismatch, it can be disastrous. This is because many of the actions that a person takes unintentionally can easily become problematic behaviors. That is why, during resume screening and interviews, we carefully observe what kind of life a person has taken, what people and events have influenced them, and what values have shaped them to where they are today. After all, the greatest example of "hiring failures that cannot be rectified through training" stems from these fundamental aspects of the person's character.

How to identify Lionheart's roots

How do we connect with applicants' roots and explore the core of their hearts during such a short interaction as the selection process? In fact, we observe this throughout the entire process, from the initial document screening to the final decision on whether to hire them or not.

Document screening: I consider it an invisible form of communication.

Naturally, I pay attention to how the documents that give my first impression are written. Is it handwritten or digital? If it's digital, how is it created? Even relatively minor details like these can give clues about the person. Also, what school did they graduate from, what kind of jobs did they have and for how long? And why did they choose those things in the first place? If they've chosen a profession different from what they studied in school, that's one of the things that easily sparks my interest.

Interview: An opportunity to observe the real person with a fresh perspective.

A person's character as revealed through their demeanor and responses.

Since this is the first time you'll meet them on screen or in person, you'll gain a more comprehensive understanding of them. What they wear, what their voice is like, how they speak, what their facial expressions are like. Their eye contact, gestures, and demeanor also reveal their personality. Even if it's different from their usual self, you can get a glimpse of how they behave in a tense situation. We basically ask about all the interests that arose during the document screening. Their responses to these questions also reveal their true character. What kind of sentence endings do they use, and in what order? What kind of face do they make at that time? For example, people who speak spontaneously and haphazardly often look up or avert their gaze while speaking, and they frequently use filler words like "um" and "uh." This is evidence that they are thinking as they speak.
Furthermore, people who speak quickly and ramblingly may be nervous or afraid of making mistakes. These are characteristics of the person that will likely manifest themselves in their work, so we observe them.

Delving deeper into personal details and discovering the roots of the heart, like the "traditional spirit of a leopard."

While I don't force them, I try to get them to talk about their family as much as possible. I ask about their personalities, what kind of work they do, whether they have siblings, etc. This is because the environment in which a person grew up is an important factor in shaping their character, regardless of whether it's good or bad. If they don't mind, I also ask about their romantic history. Whether or not they were popular can be a factor in differentiating a person's character, but how they have come to terms with that fact and developed their personality from there will also differ.
The openingWhat you learn as a child lasts a lifetime.Returning to the topic of "", that person'sThe spirit of a tripletThere's something I always ask in order to deduce what someone said to me when they were little. Ideally, I ask them to recall both the negative and positive things their parents said to them. Parents are the first adults we interact with, the first to teach us about love, and the people who have the greatest influence on us. What they frequently said to us must have left a strong impression on us.
For example, in my case, my father was a man of few words, so I don't remember the specific words he used, but he often said, "You're my daughter (meaning you're very important to me)." My mother also often said, "Of course I love you, you're my child." Perhaps because I grew up being doted on by all my relatives, I have very high self-esteem and I don't know how to doubt people. On the negative side, perhaps because I was always told, "Do as you please," "Do what you like," and "Figure it out yourself," I'm very bad at relying on or depending on others, and I tend to be very careful about what others think of me.
Let me give you another example. This is the case of one of our employees. She is a very personable person who can handle situations calmly and with good anger management skills, even in situations where it would be understandable to get furious. However, contrary to her gentle demeanor, she is very strict when it comes to work, and will point out mistakes sharply to everyone, whether they are newcomers or veterans. So, we asked her to recall things that were often said to her and episodes from her childhood, and it turns out that she, too, was raised in a loving environment. When she performed the piano she had learned in front of all her relatives, everyone praised her, saying things like, "How cute," "How skillful," and "How clever," but there was one person who said, "Did you even practice?" It may seem like an insignificant episode, but the entire recruitment team was very excited to realize that this relative was the one who shaped her into the person she is today, someone who can deliver sharp, realistic comments with a smile!

While there isn't a simple formula like 1 + 1 = 2, I believe that focusing on "getting to know the person themselves" during an interview undoubtedly yields very deep information. Furthermore, by collecting these examples, we can see tendencies and patterns in people's behavior and personality. That's why we cherish the time we spend with everyone we have the opportunity to meet during an interview.

SPI and practical skills as supplementary tools

How much of what we've seen, heard, and felt with our own eyes is actually true? We set up SPI and practical tests to get an objective perspective. So far, there's been little discrepancy between the SPI results and the interviewers' opinions, which suggests our own judgment isn't entirely wrong. We gather information about each person in every way possible to determine how they might grow in the workplace, whether they'll fit in with the team, and whether they have the right qualities for the job. However, sometimes we can't find a decisive factor until the very end. For example, a candidate might seem fine because their interview, application documents, and practical test were all excellent, but we've been diagnosed with the possibility that they lied on the SPI. In this last case, we decided that if we thought they were "good" based on what we'd seen up to this point, we should trust that and move forward! Even if it didn't work out, there was no way to see through it, so we'd just have to accept it.

Why did I become able to discern this?

All three executives studied management under the same mentor, and their experience with "introspection" during that learning process has had a significant influence. Introspection, broadly speaking, is the process of taking stock of one's entire life, looking at it objectively, and understanding one's own mental habits. For some people, it may involve digging up a past they don't want to look back on, so it requires a lot of energy. It's about accepting all aspects of yourself, and discovering your own qualities, habits, and how to manage them.
When you use yourself to gain the ability to delve deeply into the inner world of others, your perspective on people changes. You realize that you are the person you are in this moment, and no one else but yourself. In other words, you realize that everyone else—your colleagues, customers, business partners, friends, parents, etc.—has the same roots. You begin to think about "where did that person come from? How was that person's personality created?"

There's a reason behind every action, attitude, and word choice of the person in front of you. And there's a deeper reason behind that reason as well. Introspection isn't easy, and it's difficult unless you have a special opportunity. I think that starting by digging around like a child, asking "Why? Why?", will help you get to the root of the problem. So why not treat the interview as a testing ground and give it a try!

# Recruitment # Human Resources # Organization Building