Hiring Blueprint

Whilst many jobs call for an endless combination of skills, the most sought-after employee traits are often universal. Whether you’re looking for a Mechanical Engineer, Hotel Manager, or Warehouse Worker, here are 3 things you should look our for when hiring. Everything else can be trained!

1)  Attitude

If a candidate doesn’t have a positive and upbeat attitude, it’s a deal breaker. To clarify, we don’t mean blind optimism, but rather someone who has a great energy and work ethic that has a positive influence over their team. Someone that when ‘stuff’ happens, they have that uncanny ability to figure out the root causes and are motivated to work through them. They can learn from the situation and find some sort of silver lining in the experience.

2) Reliability

Scientists use consistent – or reliable – past results to predict future behaviour. The same can be applied in the workplace. In addition to looking for reliability on your candidates CV (by checking employment longevity) It can also be illustrated in other ways during the recruitment process. When a candidate is responsive to communication, is on time to interviews, and prompt when sending requested documents, these are all good signs that they will be a committed employee.

3) Ambition 

Sounds like an obvious one, but ambition cannot be looked over. A candidate who comes prepared to the interview, expresses lots of interest in the position, and has a clear willingness to learn are all great indicators that they are here for the right reasons. You want a candidate who has the drive to grow their career with your company and is therefore an investment for the future. When interviewing candidates, ask them about their achievements and when they have exceeded goals, as it a good illustration of their ambition. Any experience in a leadership position, even if it is from school or volunteering, can also be a helpful sign that they are motivated to achieve.

Everything else can be trained!

Don’t get hung up on candidates needing years’ worth of specific experience, or a certain level of industry knowledge. If a candidate has the 3 attributes above, you can train them on everything else they need to know. All whilst being safe in the knowledge you have employed an effective and committed employee within your organisation.