Employers need to know the best characteristics to look for when hiring a worker for their small business, corporation, or new startup. By being aware of certain attributes that set aside mediocre employees from those with long-term potential, business owners and management staff can make educated decisions during the interview and hiring process.
Employers should keep in mind specific attributes and characteristics when browsing through resumes, asking a candidate questions in person, and searching LinkedIn for the best person for the job opening.
Those on the hunt for a new employee should evaluate the person’s uniqueness, proactivity, ambition, responsiveness, potential, skills, team attitude, critical judgment, ability to improve, and dedication to the company before making any decisions.
Important characteristics when hiring new employees
What traits make a potential new worker the most effective and the best fit for your company? What should you look for as a business owner in an employee when trying to fill an open slot?
Based on the experience of high-up management staff, business owners, and CEOs, there is some advice that can help the hiring staff make smart decisions. Like the speech made by Rajeev Singh, a trustworthy CEO of Accolade, titled ‘Wanted: Contrarians, Disruptors, and Do-Gooders,’ business owners are looking for unique characteristics in hires that help them stand out from the rest.
A uniqueness that separates them from their co-workers
Everyone has something unique about themselves that differentiates them from others. What makes you unique? When looking at who to hire for your business, find someone who sets themselves apart from others in their past jobs by going above and beyond the job description. These workers are usually characterized by creativeness in their work and highlighted by glowing references from past employers.
Ask yourself – has the potential candidate taken risks that benefited their last company? Have they taken the initiative to do things that go beyond their basic job description? Have they helped their previous businesses move forward by doing high-level work?
Finding out how your new employee can set your business apart from the growing competition is crucial to continued success.
Have a proactive attitude
If the new employee can take risks and learn from their mistakes, this shows a can-do personality that will benefit your business. People who have never failed will never learn what they are capable of doing. By choosing someone who has tried a risky move, you are choosing an employee who does not feel limited in their capabilities.
Responsiveness
Being responsive shows employers you are willing to communicate with them and consider taking on the advice you are giving them. A candidate who takes the time to understand what you are telling them and respond appropriately shows critical interpersonal skills that can benefit your company.
Good First Impression
Candidates who make a good first impression will set a professional, but friendly, tone for the interview. The behavior and actions of the potential hire can create lasting impressions during the initial meeting, with a first meeting being a gateway to seeing their personality, professionalism, and ability to think on the spot.
Long-term potential
No one wants to hire an employee who stagnates after a few months. If the person you are interviewing does not have passion and the potential for long-term growth in your company, look elsewhere. Turnovers can end up being extremely expensive and time-consuming for your business, as training new employees take investment, energy, and human resources.
Instead, recruiters should look for those with high commitment levels and a desire for longevity in your company. Talent solutions look for candidates who know about your business and understand what you are looking for. Those who are educated about your company are more likely to they stay with the company, help the business grow, and expand their skillset.
When interviewing potential candidates, get an idea of what they have accomplished in the past and what unique characteristics or skills they can bring to your business. Look for candidates who set themselves apart from the other interviewees by describing their past achievements and proudest moments.
Be a team-player
At all companies, employees will have to work together with their co-workers on a negotiation, proposal, or long-term project. Even if your job mainly requires you to complete your tasks alone, you will still find yourself in team situations at some point in your career.
Resumes that show you can play nicely with others are essential to an employer. Including group projects and accomplishments show you have the personal skills to work with others to reach an agreed-upon solution. Some employers may even bring you in on a group interview to see how you can talk and interact with other potential candidates in a stressful situation.
Possess job-specific skills
One of the most important characteristics of a new hire is knowledge of the business sector, willingness to improve their skills, and prerequisites to do the required work. If you want to hire a qualified individual, you need to make sure they have a background and trustworthy resources that verify their skillset.
Good critical judgment
You want a new employee who can make smart decisions and have good common sense. If you find a worker who doesn’t deal well with a customer, this can give your business a bad reputation and harm your credibility. Hiring people with personable attributes and good judgment will minimize the chances of this happening at your company.
Committed to improvement
You don’t want to hire an employee who reaches a goal and decides that they have nowhere left to go in the business. Change is constant – in life and work. Finding a new employee who wants to improve their quality of work and move up within the company is imperative to the continued growth of your business.
Become the preferred provider
As any business owner can attest, becoming the #1 choice in your industry reaches the pinnacle level of accomplishment. If the public knows you as the preferred provider of your product or service, everyone will want to do business with you.
To achieve this ‘top dog’ status, employers need to choose new employees who are focused on the overall customer experience. With employees who have the consumer as the number one priority in their mind, customer reviews will remain positive and speak highly of your business.
Who do business owners want to hire? Wanted: Contrarians, Disruptors, and Do-gooders
Now that you know the basic characteristics of what makes a ‘good hire,’ you may find it interesting that one influential business owner has a divisive and unique point of view. One CEO claims the best people to hire are contrarians, disruptors, and do-gooders.
Rajeev Singh, the CEO of Accolade, stated these characteristics are imperative when searching for new hires for your business. He broke the hiring process down into three main components: finding out why you want to run your business, your company’s principles, and how your principles align with the daily actions of your business.
The first question he asks himself when hiring a new employee is discovering what motivates the individual. In his case, he transferred from an engineering career to creating a start-up with his brother. He found that becoming a part of something new and innovative meant a lot more to him than working in the engineering field. The same goes for your new employee – you want to make sure the candidate is passionate about your business.
The second question business owners need to ask themselves when finding new hires is, “who are you?” Owners need to know their values and principles, ensuring their company is following the same moral rules. Finding your core values and aligning your business with your beliefs is crucial to creating a uniform moral code. When looking to hire new employees, asking the candidates questions that pertain to the business’ values and morals is key to seeing how the individual will mesh within the company.
The last question owners should ask themselves is how they can link their values with their actions. By finding out what needs to be changed in an industry, you can fill the gap by providing the much-needed products or services.
For example, if you are in the health and fitness industry and find no gyms are offering personal training services near you, this can be the area in which you make a difference. By building a gym and finding new employees who can be personal trainers, you are helping to fill a gap within an industry.
Other key components of this speech by Singh are;
- Most businesses are formed around meeting the needs of the customer.
- He challenged the belief that Millenials and younger workers do not stay with the same organization for a long time. He states that if you build a business with core values that align with their beliefs, young workers will be inclined to stay at a corporation.
Conclusion
When finding out who to hire for your new job opening, employers need to consider various skills, personality traits, and core beliefs. By evaluating a candidate’s responsiveness, history, ambition, personality, skills, attitude, and team-player capabilities, they can decide who to hire for the potential job.
Singh provided business owners with a new perspective regarding the hiring process with his “Wanted” Contrarians, Disruptors, and Do-Gooders” speech. Singh theorizes that for owners to make the best decisions for their business, they need to be aware of three main principles.
Owners need to know why they are passionate about their job, the core values of the company, and how they can link their values with their business. Only then can a business owner make a smart hire to benefit their company and foster growth in the individual.
