What qualities to look when hiring employees

Ganesh waited with bated breath. He has lost count of the number of interviews he has attended. A computer engineer, he wanted to become software professional and dreamed of settling down in the USA with a plush job.

When it comes to technical skills, Ganesh ticked all the right boxes. But his struggle was in conveying his ideas to others and making them buy his ideas and convince them that he would be the right fit for the job.

Ganesh has been waiting in the air-conditioned reception of the MNC for the past 10 minutes. But he felt it had been years he had been waiting. He felt thirsty, and even in the cold, too, he felt sultry.

That’s when Mona, the recruiter, came out. Ganesh got up from his seat, and he felt butterflies in his stomach.

A candidate’s soft skills like communication, collaboration, and time management are important as they are the qualities recruiters look when hiring employees.

In hiring, there is always a disconnect between the requirement and the availability of talent. What are the qualities to look when hiring employees is a critical aspect for both HR and the candidate?

While there are debates over the great resignation and the increased attrition, a large pool of candidates cannot find a fit in organizations. They cannot bag their dream jobs in organizations even with suitable education qualifications. An impressive CV may help one reach the interview phase, but for all roles, HR makes sure there are certain qualities to look for when hiring employees.

Here are the top seven qualities that can turn a candidate from an applicant to an employee

As per a recent National Centre for the Middle Market study, 44% of respondents, recruiters, stated that candidates’ lack of skills is one of the major challenges they face in recruitment.

We know now that skills are important — but what skill sets are more important? Is there a way to improve them?

When recruiters mention the qualities to look for when hiring employees, they divide the skill sets into hard and soft skills.

Hard Vs. soft skills

Hard skills are measurable and teachable skills. They are job-oriented and include the technical side of the role. We can learn hard skills through formal education and training. Some examples of hard skills are programming, typing, mathematics, and accounting.

However, soft skills are a wide category and tough to measure. It includes personal traits and interpersonal skills. Soft skills focus mainly on how you interact with others. It also includes social skills, emotional skills, communication, and teamwork. It’s not easy to teach soft skills, and they are hard to measure. In the above survey, over 60% of respondents considered soft skills more important than hard skills.

What are the top soft skills required to get selected for a job in an interview?

According to a Zety study, recruiters and HR managers look for candidates’ teamwork, communication, time management, problem-solving, and creativity. They also look for leadership qualities, emotional intelligence, and the ability to manage stress and take decisions.

Let’s see each of the soft skills and how to develop them.

Teamwork:

We need Teamwork to complete the work in an organization quickly and effectively. Teamwork helps to create a system that can meet deadlines while following high-quality work. When we share work among the members, we can do it quickly, and this, in turn, will improve the organization’s efficiency.

Further, to become a team player, a candidate should be flexible. He or she should also give respect to others in the team. They should listen to the team members; whenever required, they should support or help them finish their jobs better. Thus, teamwork ensures productivity and efficiency.

Communication:

In a 2019 LinkedIn survey in the United States, communication was the most sought-after soft skill. Communication plays an important role in cracking an interview. A candidate with good communication skills can convey his personality and attitude. They can share their ideas very well and share their thoughts. Looking at the job profiles, we know that globally, organizations are giving a lot of importance to communication in their potential employees: “good communication skills.” Hence, even with good degrees and professional skills, candidates should develop good communication skills to get selected for employment.

Time Management:

In an employee’s life in the office, it’s easy to let the day finish without doing the most important task. Moreover, if a candidate doesn’t know to manage his time, he will often end up not completing his work or project on time. The three P’s of time management- Planning, Prioritizing, and Performing- are critical for employees and organizations to succeed. HR managers say this is one of the important qualities to look for when hiring employees. Hence, candidates should be able to convey and establish that they are good at time management in an interview.

Problem-solving skills:

This is one of the top skills recruiters look for in job applicants. Logical skills help you understand why an issue is happening and how to resolve it. The journey to finding a solution starts with understanding the issue, coming up with resolutions, executing them, and assessing their efficiency.

Creativity:

Individuals with a creative mindset can come up with unique solutions for their problems. Another benefit of creative candidates is their enthusiasm, which will assist them in completing tasks and resolving issues.

Emotional Intelligence:

Researchers point out that emotional intelligence or emotional quotient influences how employees interact with their colleagues. EQ also has a role in how employees manage stress and conflict. Equally important is managing your emotions positively to let go of stress, talk effectively, relate to others, overcome challenges and resolve conflict.

To succeed in an interview, it’s not enough to tick all the right boxes. You should understand what are the qualities to look for hiring employees by an organization, too. You should assure the recruiters that you are the best fit for the job.

For that, be honest and display your personality. In addition to showing eagerness, prove that you are adaptable and ready to learn from work. A sincere approach coupled with a passion for working for an organization will help you bag the dream job.