Most of us have heard of The Office; the UK and later American television show that follows the day-to-day lives of sales staff. Whilst there are no direct links to the recruitment industry, each character represents a real-life candidate that recruiters could encounter. With that in mind, we, at Austin Fraser, get to know our favourite ‘The Office’ U.S. characters and how they can be managed.

Michael Scott

‘Michael candidates’ are typically great examples of people hired based on team fit. As a self-proclaimed college dropout, Michael Scott was hired as a salesman, where he proved to be extremely successful. Though great in his role, he regularly falls woefully short of managerial duties and expectations. Like Michael Scott, ‘Michael candidates’ can often struggle to adapt to their new responsibilities, regularly injecting a lot of personal feelings into the working environment. By overestimating their own importance and relationships with co-workers, these candidates can struggle with or be confused by the lack of enthusiasm from staff. Their desire to be friends with everybody leads them to make unwise decisions or impractical promises without considering the consequences.

These job hunters will instantly win hiring managers over with their passion and natural ability. When listening to them, it’ll be easy to forget that they’re relatively inept in the professional sense. Hiring a ‘Michael candidates’ will always involve choosing culture over expertise, but it is important to make sure they are trained sufficiently before promotion.

Jim Halpert

‘Jim candidates’ are the underdogs. On the surface, it may seem they don’t take their careers seriously, spending more time playing pranks on their workmates or getting distracted. ‘Jim candidates’ are silent achievers though, consistently demonstrating that they’re the best members of the team.

It’s easy to not be bowled over by a ‘Jim candidates’, but it’s important not to underestimate them. Throughout the screening process, Jim types will always end up surprising you with a thirst for success, innovative ideas and their fun-loving nature; perfect for galvanising your team.

Dwight Schrute

A strong contender from the start, Dwight candidates will be consistently high achievers, ticking all the right skills and experience boxes. However, they are notorious for their lack of social skills, common sense and love for tradition.

Although you’ll be impressed by their ambition, these candidates generally believe they’re better than they actually are. They’ll be very competent in their role and show admirable loyalty to their career and company, but their progression plans will be a little jaded. Keep them as ones to watch; their drive, resilience and hard work are guaranteed to see results, but think about the team and what impact a ‘Dwight candidate’ might have on its dynamic.

Pam Halpert

When viewers are first introduced to the Pam, she remarks, ‘I don’t think it’s many little girls’ dream to be a receptionist’ highlighting her non-committal attitude. ‘Pam candidates’ usually show a lack of enthusiasm, happily abandoning work in favour of distractions.

Throughout their careers, ‘Pam candidates’ will make several moves, but never truly know which direction their aiming for. Instead of rising upwards, their career will move sideways, often leaving them short of reaching their full potential. These candidates shouldn’t be dismissed though; they’re clever, skilled and experts in their fields. As a recruiter, they may seem like a risk but if you place them in their dream role, you will unleash their full potential.

Stanley Hudson

No longer invested in their role, ‘Stanley candidates’ will be tricky to place into a new one. Whilst they’re serious and hardworking, they foster a negative attitude and lack of interest in their surroundings, along with a level of disrespect for management and hierarchy. These candidates often have good relations with other colleagues but are generally careless, with their interests lying with seeing out their time and going home.

At Austin Fraser, everything about the way we conduct business has a client or candidate at heart. We pride ourselves on being a consultancy service that actually consults and this involves getting to know what motivates and drives our candidates. Even though new episodes of The Office won’t be gracing our screens anytime soon, there are still many lessons we can take away to enhance the candidate experience.