5 Characteristics Companies Seek in New Candidates

At a first glance, it might seem that finding good candidates is all about matching requirements to skills and accomplishments. But there’s much more to it than that. There are some other traits that play a big role in the recruitment process, and some of them aren’t just taught at school. For instance, you can learn maths at university, but they might not teach you about loyalty. With this in mind, we have written this short, but helpful, guide with 5 characteristics companies seek in new candidates.

5 Characteristics Companies Seek in New Candidates

1. Integrity

Companies invest heavily in their workforce, they are looking for candidates who are honest and ethical on their resumes, in their interviews, and going forward into the position. A candidate who is straightforward about what they don’t know, candid about mistakes they’ve learned from, and is honest about what they need from an employer is exactly what employers are looking for in a candidate. Even if you don’t get your first-choice position, your chances of finding a good fit are far better when you interview with honesty and integrity.

2. Loyalty

Be aware that the way you speak or write about your past employers informs prospective employers about the way you’ll talk about their company someday. Whether it’s declining to divulge propriety information, or simply choosing to say there was “a parting of the ways” instead of going into bitter detail about the reasons you left your old job, Hiring Managers are looking for someone who will behave with loyalty and discretion toward their own company.

3. People skills.

While you don’t have to be everyone’s best friend, Recruiters, and Hiring Managers need to know you can be a valuable and functional team member. Even in sales, where you are often assigned solo territory, you are still part of an overall team. Displaying your social skills demonstrates your ability to enhance, rather than detract from the productivity of a team.

4. Critical thinking.

In today’s fast-paced engineering, automation, and sales fields, the job isn’t just about following directions or protocols, it’s also about creative problem-solving and being able to predict and understand the impact on the company of various solutions. Hiring Managers want employees that can think, question, and innovate, not just work through a checklist.

5. Flexibility.

It’s a high-tech world, and technology is constantly changing and improving. The modern workforce is expected to learn and change right along with it. Employers are looking for candidates who can learn new things, grow in their jobs and their industries, and be flexible with expanding or shifting duties and expectations. Showing Recruiters and Hiring Managers examples of the times you’ve learned new skills or grown into a new responsibility shows your work ethic and your flexibility.

Choose your strengths

These traits are what separate good candidates from great ones, from just an engineer to a leader. Take a look at your resume and interview skills from the point of view of the Recruiters and Human Resources Managers, so you can see which of your strengths are most important to get the job. Show your next interviewer why you are a better candidate than anyone else with the same qualifications!