Case Study: Importance of Attitude and Cultural Fit in Service Engineering

In this industry it is rare that I place someone into a company servicing and repairing the exact products that they are doing so now (of course there are always exceptions to the rule), what is often overlooked in such a technically minded job is the importance of attitude and cultural fit.

If a company is not hiring you on your working knowledge of equipment then what are they looking for?

Generally this will come down to Adaptability, Personality & Customer Facing Skills and Approach to Fault Finding.

Case Study Example:

I met a candidate a while ago who was very interested in getting into the healthcare industry with no previous experience.  However, his strongest skills were his customer focus and that he was able to re-train quickly; with great examples to back it up.

There was no doubt he was technical and he had experience with a variety of different equipment, so on this basis he gained an interview (and had done so at other Healthcare positions before that). I knew that this particular client would see through any lack of experience for the right cultural fit for the team. I prepared him to focus on his experience of adapting to new markets, his examples of excellent customer service skills and showing his personality.

With this advice, he shone in the first interview and the rest is history!

In my opinion the emphasis must be to focus on the skills and attributes that are important to you as an individual within the working environment.  This will result in finding the right cultural fit for you. If there is a gap in knowledge and experience then focus on how you can fill the gap with the additional skills and traits you have. By shifting the focus to the other skills you can bring to the table as a team member you may find that you would complement the weaknesses of the current team.

So next time think about how you can focus on the skills you do have rather than those you do not, this may just result in you securing not the first role you go for, but the perfect role for you.