4 QUALITIES HIRING MANAGERS MUST LOOK FOR IN CANDIDATES

1. The Make it Happen attitude/Positive attitude/Grit

Having a positive attitude is very important and hiring managers must look out for attitude during the screening process. It is better to have an employee with the right attitude but without adequate skills than have an employee who is overly qualified but has a very poor attitude. When the going gets tough, when the obstacles mount, and when the resources are scarce, people with a positive attitude always find a way to make it happen. Rather than focusing on the possibility of failure—which is always a possibility—they hit the ground running. And they do it with so much creativity and motivation that they leave the mere idea of failure in the dust.

To assess the trait of grit in a candidate, I often ask, “Tell me about a time you were facing great challenge in your role or schooling.” Here’s the secret: I’m more interested in the tactics this person used to overcome the obstacle than the actual obstacle itself.

2. Collaborative Tendencies/Team Spirit

The power of our company lies within the creative strength of the entire team. Employees must work as a team for the company to achieve its set goals and objectives. Oftentimes, we reach our goal faster by culling each individual’s strengths and working together to find the best solution. The notion of “consensus-driven” decision-making doesn’t have to apply always because the power of diverse thinking and coordinated effort always leads to success. So, there should be no room for destructive egos in the office. Instead, people in the office should relish the idea of reaching their destination together because teamwork is strength.

To assess whether the candidate is a team player or not, I’ll ask the candidate to describe the best office environment he or she ever been a part of. In the answer, I look for a person who clearly understands (and respects!) that collaboration is the heart of a winning team.

3. Curiosity/Willingness to Learn

One of the core values of any serious organization should be learning. Serious organizations seek to constantly be moving forward. Remember nothing is static in this world. The only static thing is change and you need people in the organization who are curious and pro-change. The more curious a person is, the more likely he or she is open to learning, always looking for new information. Everyone I hire wants to understand the undercurrents of our business and the world around us.

I typically assess curiosity and love for learning based on how the candidate describes his or her motivations for changing jobs, as well as based on the questions he or she asks me.

4. Emotional Intelligence/Empathy/Emotional Quotient

Empathy is high on my list for must-haves in a great team member. That’s not because we want to have a homogenous community of social beings. It’s because empathy is the root of mindfulness, connection, great leadership, and deep bonds. This drives the foundation of trust in an organization and equates to teams pushing each other to be better and achieve greater things together. Employees with high emotional and social intelligence:

• collaborate effectively with their teammates
• embrace open communication
• adapt well to change.

Recruiters and hiring managers should measure Emotional Intelligence by asking specific questions that are relevant to the role they’re hiring for. For example, an emotionally intelligent salesperson is able to manage their frustration when listening to clients’ complaints. Similarly, a developer with a high EQ doesn’t get upset when their colleagues find bugs in their code during code reviews – instead, they accept their colleagues’ feedback and refocus on their work.