Human resources expert and National Automotive Finance Association board member Don Jasensky of Automotive Personnel recently shared seven activities of a job candidate who might be a future high performer for your dealership or finance company.

Jasensky leveraged his 30 years of interviewing candidates and following up on their careers and noted one factor top performers often share. It’s what he called the “own time and dime” theory.

“It’s been proven to us through thousands of interviews that employees who work hard to develop their professional skills and increase their industry knowledge away from work, at their own expense and time, nearly always develop into high performers in their careers,” Jasensky said.

Jasensky provided examples of how job candidates might be improving themselves, including:

• Sales personnel who practice their presentation at home and record it on a smartphone to review and look for ways to improve

• Managers who practice meeting at home and record it and look for ways to improve it

• Reading books on management practices, leadership, customer service, sales, etc., to excel in their job

• Enrollment in online or weekend classes related to work

• Join LinkedIn groups to stay current on their industry

• Joining clubs like Toastmasters to hone their speaking skills

• Active members in their profession such as the Society of Actuaries

“Employees who put effort into their career improvement — on their own time and dime — are very likely to be successful with you, so make sure you ask,” Jasensky said.

Jasensky literally wrote a book focused on a strategy to help you find employees who could flourish in your operation. It can be found at this website.