by Sam E. Jones

Created on: May 27, 2010

No matter what line of work you are in, there are certain qualities and skills that potential employers are looking for. People who develop these skills and qualities will always be in great demand. Below are the top ten qualities and skills that employers seek.

1 – Attitude. The number one quality employers look for in a new hire is a positive and confidant attitude. Those people who walk in and look like they can do the job, are usually the ones that get that job.

2 – Next on the list of top qualities is intelligence. Employers want to hire someone they know will not only be able to do the job, but will able to learn the ropes quickly and get up to speed, and then once there, won’t need a lot of baby-sitting.

3 – Most employers are also looking for people they think they can trust. They want to feel confident that the person they hire can do the job, but also will do it in a way that doesn’t cause any problems. They want to see something in prospective new hires that shows them that this person won’t be trying to pull something over on anybody or try to duck out of assignments, or worse steal from them.

4 – One of the main things of importance to people that hire other people is that they won’t be embarrassed by their choice at a later date. Thus, they look for people with a clean record, and an open personality. They also look for any personal problems or anything else that might come back to haunt them.

5 – Another very important thing employers look for are people that they believe will help them make more money; whether it’s being an outstanding sales person, someone who streamlines the accounting process, or someone who makes more widgets per hour than other people, employers like employees who help the bottom line.

6 – An often overlooked thing that employers look for are people that get along well with other people. Businesses run more smoothly if the people working together get along well.

7 – Creativity. Employers like employees that make them look good, so it should come as no surprise that employers look for people that can add new life to an old team, or someone that has new ideas or has a track record of being someone that thinks up new and or better ways of doing things.

8 – Professionalism. Employers are always looking for people who will represent the company well. Who can schmooze and speak in ways that put others at ease, and never say things that cause disruption.

9 – Hopefully it won’t shock anyone, but employers really prefer hiring people that will work hard for them. It just makes sense to try to get as much bang for your buck as you can.

10 – Likeability. Though it might be difficult to define, likeability is one of the deciding factors when an employer is looking to hire someone, especially if the new hire will be working directly with or for the person that hires them. It’s pretty simple, if you’re going to hire someone to work with you all day, you really ought to try to find someone you like.

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