Recruiting: Don't underestimate the value of integrity

Hiring employees with high ethical standards can save a lot of headaches down the road

Recruiting: Don't underestimate the value of integrity

Oftentimes, when it comes to recruiting, we tend to focus almost exclusively on skill. We mainly look at the experience of the candidate. We might also look at the education and any professional certifications the candidate might have, but these criteria serve the same purpose. We're looking at the employee functionally, considering how well they will do the particular job that we have in mind for them.

Of course, it makes complete sense to seek out employees based on their ability to do the work. Typically, we wouldn't even be hiring unless there were an open positions, so it makes complete sense to target the hiring criteria toward skills required for the position. However, while I do believe that considering the candidate's competence is important, I don't think that it is enough. Especially in the mortgage industry, there are other things that we might consider when looking at job candidates.

One important thing to consider when hiring for the mortgage industry is integrity. Oftentimes, this is something that goes ignored in the interview process. We simply expect all candidates to have solid integrity and, as a result, we don't bother screening for it. In the mortgage industry, though, hiring employees with high ethical standards can save a lot of headaches down the road. How do you go about ensuring that the candidates you are considering have enough integrity for the job?