36 Key Characteristics to Look for When Hiring

Whether recruiting a start-up or a large corporation, getting hiring right can make an enormous difference to your business’s success. Even with the most effective hiring process, it is unlikely that you’ll find a candidate with everything you are looking for. Still, there are some universally positive characteristics to look for when hiring.

These must-have traits and attributes can often indicate whether the job seeker will have the right mindset and skills to fit in with your organisation and reach their full potential.

Here are 36 important characteristics when hiring your next candidate:

Adaptable

The coronavirus pandemic perfectly illustrated how important it is for employees to adapt and adjust quickly to a new situation. Working remotely became a requirement, and new work processes and procedures were implemented. This is an extreme example, but in any job, changes occur, and it’s important that employees can cope with whatever they have to face.

Ambitious

New employees give organisations new energy. Candidates who want to progress and have a vision of where they want to go and what they want to do. They are likely to make a fast start, but the trick is to harness this ambition and ensure it is channelled effectively and managed accordingly; if career options are limited, then you’ll find this positive characteristic can turn into a negative trait.

Authentic

In any recruitment process, you want the candidates to be able to present an honest picture of their true nature. The real value in assessing cultural fit (or cultural add) is that employees feel comfortable being themselves at work when they start. Employees who interview authentically allow you to assess culture fit more accurately. If they start with you and act according to their true values, they will naturally be more engaged and motivated.

Candid

Good ideas can come from anywhere in an organisation. The most effective organisations are those that encourage open and honest dialogue. Finding a candidate who is prepared to speak their mind and offer their own opinions with radical candour shows that they won’t be afraid to speak up.

Compassionate

The best employees care about their colleagues as people, taking an interest in their lives outside work and seeing them as fully-rounded human beings. Taking time to get to know colleagues and being there when they need help is an important trait for any employee.

Confident

Businesses want candidates who know what they want and aren’t afraid to work hard. This should not be confused with arrogance or boastfulness. You don’t have to be loud or brash to know your mind. Confidence is about knowing what should be done and putting those thoughts into action.

Courageous

Employees who have the courage to believe in themselves, their abilities and their judgement are exactly what every organisation should be looking for. Identifying future employees who are bold and brave enough to take a chance can make all the difference.

Creative

With technology taking over many repetitive jobs, creativity is gaining importance. Creativity doesn’t have to mean artistic; it is relevant to any job in various ways. That’s what makes it so hard to measure objectively. Bringing fresh ideas, finding a new perspective or thinking about a problem differently represent creativity and are highly prized qualities in any organisation.

Curious

A curious employee will ask questions and challenge your organisation’s current thinking. In an interview, look for candidates who ask intelligent and insightful questions. This demonstrates that they are interested in your organisation and keen to learn more. It shows that they want to be part of your business, which is an essential characteristic when looking for a new hire.

Decisive

The most successful organisations are those that back their judgement and follow a clear course of action. Candidates who give a definite answer and can back it up with solid reasoning show they can act decisively when required.

Drive

This is arguably one of the most important characteristics you’ll seek in an ideal candidate. Finding someone who can motivate themselves and others around them, always striving to grow and improve, can make a huge difference to your organisation, taking your level of success from good to great. Finding out what drives someone to reach their full potential can also be important before hiring them. 

Empathetic

One key skill required for any job is the ability to understand others’ rationales and motivations. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is vital, especially for those in a management position. In the future, soft skills will become increasingly important, especially as repetitive tasks are replaced by automation.

Enthusiastic

Employees who are enthusiastic about their role and the company are much more likely to be productive and motivated. This enthusiasm should be evident from your first meeting. Enthusiast employees want to learn, progress, and do their best. Without this quality, they will struggle to reach their full potential.

Flexible

Unlike adaptability, which indicates being comfortable with permanent change, flexibility accepts many rapid, short-term changes. New hires must be willing to try new things and take on other responsibilities if the circumstances demand it. Someone who is rigid in their thinking and sticks religiously to what they know is unlikely to react well to change. 

Focused

With the proliferation of tools, apps and communication channels used as part of a day’s work, it is increasingly easy to get sidetracked. The ability to shut out these distractions and keep focused on the task at hand is vital to maintaining high productivity.

Friendly

No matter what role you are seeking to fill, chances are that you’ll be looking for someone who is easy to get along with and approachable. Friendly doesn’t have to mean the life and soul of the party; it just means someone who is open, happy to work with others, and takes an interest in the people they are working with.

Funny

This doesn’t mean you are looking for a stand-up comic who tells a constant stream of one-liners, just someone who has a sense of humor. The ability to laugh at a situation is a great way to reduce tension at work and build team bonds. When things get stressful, having someone around who can lighten the mood is a very handy asset to have.

Generous

No one wants to work with a colleague who hogs the limelight and takes credit for other people’s ideas. Being generous means giving others the credit they deserve and acknowledging good work or ideas from colleagues. It also means being generous with their time, an important skill for managers.

Honest

The best teams have open and honest discussions, with everyone sharing their views. This comes from psychological safety but also from people who admit mistakes and stick to their principles. It’s important to have people who take ownership, as we learn far more from our mistakes than our successes.

Human

Companies are only as good as the people we have working in them. To be human at work means bringing our emotions, feelings and flaws with us. No one is perfect, and having the capacity to understand this and empathise accordingly is an important characteristic for any employee.

Optimistic

Every organisation should seek new hires with a “can do” attitude. These people can see the silver lining when others only see the clouds. They can bring up the mood of a team and department and encourage others to deliver.

Organised

With employees working more autonomously, without constantly being in the presence of their line manager, they must be organized and able to manage their workload effectively. Knowing what they need to do and by when means that their colleagues can work efficiently.

Passionate

Showing passion for your job, or the company you work for can keep you motivated when things get hard. Passionate employees aren’t just valuable internally, they have the power to be ambassadors externally – championing your brand and what you stand for. 

Patient

Not everything can be achieved overnight. Some things take time and dedication to complete. Timing can be everything, and waiting until the right moment can be the difference between success and failure. Coaching is growing in importance as part of most people’s roles. This requires patience, allowing employees the time to acquire new skills and fully understand their role.

Positive

Having employees who look at the bright side and see the positives in any situation can help turn a disaster into a success. A glass-half-full attitude can inspire others and galvanise a team to ensure everyone is pulling in the right direction.

Principled

The majority of businesses have values they want employees to adhere to. Finding employees of high integrity and who appreciate shared values is important to create and maintain a healthy culture.

Problem solver

How people cope when things go wrong tells you a lot about their character and attitude. No matter how well you plan, the unexpected mishap is always just around the corner. Having employees who take these in their stride and are able to think their way through them is invaluable.

Reliable

This is an especially important characteristic when hiring into small businesses with little margin for error and finite resources. Doing exactly what you are meant to do, on time and on budget, is an essential building block, providing the foundations upon which a business can grow and thrive.

Supportive

As employees are increasingly likely to work remotely, their colleagues’ support will become increasingly important. Being there to lend a hand, act as a sounding board or boost morale will help to keep teams working effectively together, no matter where they are based.

Self-motivated

As the structure of organisations becomes less top-down, the relationship between employees and managers is changing. Employees are expected to take ownership of their development. Those that have intrinsic motivation are the ones that are most likely to be successful.

Team player

Great businesses are built on successful, high-performing teams. When looking for a new employee, you must consider how well they will fit into the team they will be joining. Do they work in the same way? Do they have the same attitudes? Getting the balance right can enhance the team hugely; getting the selection wrong can destroy it.

Tenacious

Businesses thrive on employees prepared to go the extra mile and keep trying when others may have given up, particularly in sales roles. After an interview, pay close attention to which candidates follow up and ask for feedback. This is a useful indicator of how much they want the job and their commitment to getting it.

Trustworthy

Trust is an essential component of good teamwork. When trust is broken, it’s almost impossible to repair. With managers and employees spending less time physically in the same location, employees must be trusted to deliver results remotely. 

Vision

With many businesses in transition, endless opportunities exist to think creatively and set a new vision. Hiring employees who can see the big picture and create fresh opportunities, particularly in leadership roles, can make all the difference.

Willingness to learn

It is highly unlikely you’ll find the finished article in your recruitment process, someone who has everything you want and need. It is important to identify a candidate who is keen to learn and develop to perform to their full potential.

Willingness to listen

Active listening is an underrated skill. Taking in information, processing and understanding it the first time you ask saves invaluable time. It is an essential part of being a good communicator and is often the side of communication that is overlooked. Being part of a successful team involves listening to what others say and acknowledging their good ideas.

Conclusion

Finding all these good characteristics in one individual when hiring is nigh on impossible, but this list should give you a strong indication of what to look for. 

Choose which characteristics and skills are most important for the role you are hiring for, the team the candidate will join, and the overall business. Consider how you might be able to judge these in your hiring process by incorporating interview questions and real-life tasks to assess the required characteristics of your new hire accurately.