10 Qualities To Consider When Hiring

Written by Tom Clegg on .

It’s very important when hiring a new employee to consider not just there resume but also their personality and work ethic to ensure that they are the perfect fit for your company.

Throughout the hiring process, plenty of weight should be placed on looking for the person with the right attitude. But what, exactly, does the “right attitude” look like and how do you know what to look for? Some things to consider are;

  1. Curious nature: People with the right attitude ask plenty of questions. They thirst for knowledge, wanting to learn more about the company, the culture, the industry, a product or just about anything else. 
  2.  Ready to work: A candidate’s drive to succeed is important. Try to hire people who are always willing to work hard but also work smarter to get the job done. This sort of dedication comes through as true passion for the job. Look for people who love what they do, and are fully dedicated to helping the organisation succeed.
  3.  Permeate with positivity: Attitude is everything. You want employees whose positive attitudes permeate the entire staff.
  4. Part of the team: Attitude, skills and experience are all important attributes to bring to the job, but at the end of the day culture and team fit are just as important.  When interviewing employee candidates ask yourself: Would I want to sit next to this person on a plane and have a conversation? Relatability of a potential employee with his or her manager, team and peers can have a positive effect on engagement and productivity.
  5.  Bigger and better thoughts: It’s important to hire people who dream of bigger and better things. That doesn’t necessarily mean dreams that take them away from the company. Simply put, employees should have lofty goals for themselves and the company.  
  6.  Enthusiastic – positive energy: This is observable in their verbal (choice of words, confident responses) and nonverbal communication (smiles, eye contact, positive gestures) this is important because our culture is made up of positive people.
  7.  Authentic: Must be who they are. Must appear comfortable in their own skin; doesn’t exaggerate; speaks about accomplishments and interests in a way that is natural and convincing; self-aware (comfortable with talking about shortcomings). 
  8.  Integrity: Can take personal responsibility, is transparent and trustworthy; measured in how they handled themselves in grey situations such as speaking up when suspected something is wrong; this is important because we have a culture of doing the right thing no matter what.
  9.  Business savvy: Knowledgeable about their field and committed to keeping up with change; to continue learning and making improvements; this is important because we embrace subject matter experts and we acknowledge we are in a fast-paced ever-changing world and we need our associates to keep up with that dynamic.
  10.  Agility: Can demonstrate flexibility in previous work or academic experience through their stories; how they recovered from their mistakes and how they adjusted when a project didn’t go their way. 

There are many qualities employers look for when hiring. Do your recent hires fit the mould?