by J L Petriesan

Created on: December 04, 2008

What are the top ten things employers look when trying to hire someone?

I wish there was an absolute list. When I was younger, I remember chanting the mantra: they all want someone experienced, but you can't get experience without getting hired.

Sounded good and was a good excuse to sit around not looking for work while watching Star Trek and Underdog with my friends, who were all pretty much in the same bat.

There are many things I look for. No I cannot rank them, because what might be the single most important thing for one job might be number seven for another. While an understanding of double entry accounting is important for the bookkeepers and accountants who work for me, the receptionist doesn't need to know it. So, in no planned order:

COMPETANCE. . . Can she do the dang job? Does she have the training and experience to step right in?

WORK ETHIC. . .Will she do the dang job? Does she want to work or need to work? Needing to work can often be a huge motivator, but wanting to do the job she has is perhaps more important. Some combination is best.

INTELLIGENCE. . .Can she learn new things. Can she think outside the box? More importantly, does she like learning new things, which leads directly to. . .

CURIOSITY. . .Is she interested in why things are done and where she will fit into everything. Does she like seeing what happens if. . .?

SELF CONFIDENCE. . .Does she believe in herself? Is she willing to defend her position. Her work, her ideas? I do not mean over-bearing by this term, but something much much more than a wallflower.

CREATIVIY. . .Can he think outside the box? Can he see new ways to do old things? Can he solve problems? Does he like to solve problems?

ETHICS. . .does he have them? Does he know what they are? Is he willing to stand on his personal code even if it hurts him professionally, financially or otherwise? Do you trust him even when you cannot see him?

FLEXIBILTY. . .Can he change and adapt to new situations? Is he willing to do another's job because it needs doing? Is he willing to travel, work late, or, possibly even transfer?

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. . .even the most technical of technocrats have to have some ability to speak to the rest of us, although if their job requires only research with little or no interaction with other humans, this may be optional. For the rest of us, we need to be able to get along with the people with whom we work, even if we do not like them.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS. . .Can he string together two spoken sentences coherently? Everyone needs to express to others their thought and ideas. If the job requires any writing at all (and almost all do), can he write? Now, I do not mean at the level of Voltaire or even Fennimore Cooper, but can you understand what he has put on paper without a verbal explanation?

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