Facebook may have more than a billion users, but, when it comes to hiring, it “is not a company for everyone in the world,” said Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week. When looking to bring new people on board, he and his team look for candidates whose values align with those of the company.

In a question and answer session, the Facebook founder and CEO shared some key elements of his hiring philosophy, saying “I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person.”

Zuckerberg’s comments suggest that, in addition to the necessary job-related skills, personality traits, and especially leadership attributes, are a crucial aspect to evaluate in prospective employees.

If Mark Zuckerberg really wants to identify the potential leadership qualities in candidates and ensure that they are aligned with Facebook’s culture, he might consider using a validated pre-employment assessment like the Caliper Profile, which can help uncover a candidate’s leadership strengths—i.e., is he or she likely to:

  • Inspire and motivate others effectively
  • take charge of projects
  • challenge conventional wisdom—even at the largest social network in the world?

The Caliper Profile works by identifying an individual’s innate personality traits and relating them to real-world job requirements. Over the years, we have determined that traits such as assertiveness, aggressiveness, abstract reasoning ability, urgency, and risk-taking are all highly correlated with strong performance in leadership roles; that is, individuals exhibiting these traits are more likely to demonstrate the behaviors that correspond with success in those types of positions.

When you have scientifically validated data to back up impressions from an interview, you can more easily find candidates who truly exemplify your company’s culture and have the potential to not only do the job, but grow and develop into future leaders.

For a company like Facebook that tries to stay as lean as possible, making sure you hire the right people with the right potential can help keep those billion-plus users from unfriending you and checking out Google+.