What qualities make a good employee? This question is never outdated. Hard skills are relatively easy to check, but discovering candidate’s personality traits remains challenging. Every company needs responsible, hard-working, and creative people who are not afraid of challenges. However, if everything were that simple, we would not struggle that much while looking for the most fitting candidates. Some qualities always remain on the top of a recruiter’s list. Other features gain value in the wake of technology and labour culture shifts. Personal traits the perfect candidate should have largely depend on the industry. In general, such subjective and hard-to-track things as personal qualities don’t always fit in the hiring guidelines.
To help candidates focus on the most relevant and sought-after features while preparing for the interview, Jooble asked specialists from 150 companies across 9 countries. They shared their thoughts about the most eye-catching personality traits of remote employees. According to the results, 82% of respondents ranked self-discipline first.
People who don’t lose sight of the long-term perspectives and can manage their workflow without constant check-ins from the team lead are priceless. Sure, numerous productivity tracking tools can assure employers their subordinates are busy fulfilling the tasks, but achieving integrity is more mutually beneficial.
Readiness to practise the life-long learning approach is widely accepted as the key feature of the perfect employee. Experts say those who eagerly dig into new information and strive for professional improvement have a big advantage over their competitors.
Another crucial personality trait is the ability to communicate effectively. To avoid misunderstandings during online interactions people must be precise and clear about things they want to express.
Regardless of whether you have seen your colleagues before, being a good team player is essential. This ever-green requirement has become even more sought-after when the whole business communication forcibly switched to Zoom in 2020. Without the energizing effect of face-to-face communication employees soon start feeling left out and lose their sense of belonging. Although people keep doing their job, they don’t consider it as a part of the bigger picture. Why should I clarify these things if no one cares? Why should I help if no my teammates aren’t eager to help me? If the person doesn’t have enough experience of cooperating with others to achieve results, these questions will often cross their mind.
Needless to say, respondents also talked about honesty and integrity at the workplace. Remote jobs give people more freedom to master their time. Since no one is constantly watching, many employees give in to the temptation of procrastinating and put-off tasks until the last minute. However, honesty and integrity don’t limit themselves to this. Showing respect to work ethics, staying prudent during conflicts, admitting wrongdoings – all these traits distinguish you among thousands of candidates.
See also: Effective Leadership Trait: Gauge Your Words and Measure Its Impact
Sure, the same goes for people working onsite. ‘’Classic’’ employers need to have all skills mentioned above as well. However, we can’t ignore the difference between remote and in-office communication. 64% of respondents say they distinguish specific requirements for personal features while looking for candidates to fill remote and in-office positions.
For example, being surrounded by colleagues daily requires a good command of emotional intelligence. Since you can’t put the unfolding quarrel on hold or mute annoying teammates, the ability to quickly control and evaluate emotions will come in handy. Moreover, if you know how to interpret and respond to other people’s feelings correctly, it will boost productivity and inspire the team.
Having a positive attitude is another must for a successful candidate. Optimists are not light-hearted. They just try to see a silver lining even in the toughest situations. This personal quality is essential at the workplace because businesses always experience difficulties and sometimes even stand on edge of economic breakdown. Keeping a positive approach and spreading it out help to keep working when you don’t feel like that.
Sense of humour matters as well. The ability to make a witty remark (and not offend people with it) can turn even the most disastrous situation into an absolute win. Sometimes it smooths things over faster and more effectively than long and boring team building activities. Needless to say how much a good sense of humour helps create a healthy working environment.
Being able to look at the situation from the other person’s perspective. Having a rigid mind is a curse! If you can’t listen to others and try to understand why your opinions differ, you miss a great opportunity to enrich your experience and make better decisions in the future.
The last (but not least!) important personal feature is ownership thinking. It’s quite reasonable to prioritize your tasks over other activities in the workplace. However, sometimes employees ignore crucial things. As a result, the company suffers from such negligence. Being dissatisfied isn’t enough. If the person doesn’t like something and can fix it on her own, fine. If this person can find the source owners and sell them the idea of how to fix the problem, it’s also great. The most important thing is not to stand aside.
To sum up, all these features are interrelated. Good personal skills are just as high in demand as the hard ones. We all have strengths and weaknesses. There is no need to fit in all the requirements. The best tactic is to marry your skills with what the company expects from you. And, of course, live and learn.
Read also: Four Vital Traits to Focus When Hiring Remote Staff
Maria Bohdanovska is a journalist-turned-content manager passionate about finding solutions and explaining difficult things in simple ways. She is working at Jooble, one of the biggest job search engines worldwide. Maria is responsible for developing content strategies and establishing online presence of Jooble. On the weekends, you can find her dancing salsa or reading a book from the endless to-read list.
Connect with her on LinkedIn.
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