But when you have a pool of candidates who all meet these tangible requirements, it really comes down to the individual’s soft skills.
You can interview an extremely talented designer who fits all the criteria but if they aren’t willing to work hard or they’re dishonest, then they will only cause more harm to your company than good.
Discover four soft skills you should look for when hiring a new employee that will help you find the right employee for your team.
Strong Work Ethic
Adding a new employee to your team who has a strong work ethic can be very valuable, but it’s not always easy to determine who has a strong work ethic from an interview.
One of the best ways to determine a candidate’s work ethic is to ask them about their first work experience growing up. There is a lot to be said for a person who learns the value of work at a young age. Ask whether they had to perform chores at home or if they had to get a job to pay for their education. These experiences help shape the way a person views work from a young age and into their career.
Dedication
You can’t grow your company if you don’t have dedicated, committed, and accessible people on your team. Previous dedication to a company, network, group or craft is a critical indicator that they will show this attribute in my business.
One of the ways you can do this is to see how long someone has worked for their previous company. Good tenure is a sign that someone will stay and see things through in business. It’s important to find people who are in it for the long-run and looking to grow their career. If someone has poor tenure then they may just be in it for the quick fix and won’t be as dedicated to your company as you need.
Integrity
Another trait to look for in a potential hire is integrity. Trusting employees and creating honest, transparent relationships always win. If someone is not trustworthy, they will not only cause problems in your business but with other employees as well.
Asking questions like ‘How did you earn the trust of others?’ or ‘Describe a time when you admitted a mistake to a co-worker’ will help you determine whether or not the candidate has integrity.
Ability to Learn
Finally, great employees never stop adapting and learning. Benchmarking where someone has learned something new and how well they are using that learned tool or craft is critical. As long as someone has the mental capacity and willingness to try and keep at it, they can go very far in business.
Ask the candidate about how they like to learn – is it by trial and error, reading instructions or by watching someone perform a task? The candidate should be aware of how they learn and pick up new information.
Hiring the right employee is crucial to your business success and one of the ways to make sure you find the right candidate is to learn more about them as a person. The candidate not only needs to fit the minimum requirements
but also has the right soft skills for success.
