Hiring for Heart at Your Credit Union

Let’s set the record straight: The most successful people aren’t always the most educated, the most experienced, or the most naturally gifted.

They’re the ones who don’t quit.

Determination. Grit. Perseverance. These qualities consistently outperform pedigree, theory, or method. You’ve probably met someone with a brilliant “million-dollar idea,” but as we all know, nothing is cheaper than a good idea without action.

The hardest thing to find? Someone willing to do the work.

And here’s the challenge for those of us leading credit unions: There’s no test that can measure the heart of a person. You can’t scan a résumé and see what they’re capable of. You can’t read an interview and uncover the quiet drive that gets someone through setbacks and over finish lines.

But you can do two things:

Hire beyond the résumé.

What if the best future employee at your credit union isn’t the one who interviews best, but the one who quietly shows up and learns fast? What if we hired not just for skills, but for potential, drive, and willingness to grow?

Ask different questions. Try a few of these:

• If we hired you and gave you a project you didn’t know how to do, how would you approach it?
• Tell me about a time you went above your role to help a team member or solve a problem.
• What motivates you to keep going when a task gets tough, or progress feels slow?

Look beyond titles. Hire for hunger, not just history.

Don’t box people in once they’re in.

So often we assign roles like cages. We forget that every person walking through our doors carries untapped talent we may never see – because we never gave them the room to show us.

• Are we training people to do a job or are we developing them to become leaders?
• Are we promoting based on trust and promise or just seniority and comfort?
• Are we creating systems that stretch people or ones that trap them?

At your credit union, someone on your team today could be your next great innovator, your next great connector, your next great leader. But they need space to grow. They need belief. They need someone willing to say, “Let’s see what you can do.”

Because no test can measure heart. But every day, your culture can either nurture it or bury it.

The choice is yours.