Job Hunting: What Do Employers Look For in Candidates?
In many respects, looking for a new job is easier today than it was ten or twenty years ago. Technology, for example, makes finding the perfect job as simple as typing a query into a search box.
However, while the art of finding and applying for jobs might be simpler these days, many candidates fall over at the first hurdle: the interview stage. If that sounds like a familiar problem, you might be wondering what you can do to improve things.
Aside from job-related experience and qualifications, the following explains what it is most employers look for in candidates that want to work for them:
Intelligence
It goes without saying that intelligence plays a big part in the hiring process for most, if not all, employers. Hiring managers want to know if candidates have the intelligence to effectively plan, organize, solve problems, and set priorities.
They also want to know if people applying for jobs have common sense. That’s because, as with most things in life, there will be occasions where employees will need to “think outside the box” to resolve issues.
How can you prove that you are intelligent, apart from what you write on your resume? Believe it or not, one way is by demonstrating your curiosity. If you ask good (relevant) questions and listen to the answers, you’ll appear “smarter” to hiring managers.
Positivity
Employers want to hire individuals that emit a lot of positivity. For example, they want to see that people are happy, smiling, and are willing to look at things optimistically rather than assume the worst of every outcome.
If you’re a positive person, but you don’t like to smile due to problems with your teeth, dental services like teeth whitening or realignment can help improve your smile and, as an added bonus, increase your self-confidence.
What happens if you’re not particularly optimistic about things in life? If you’ve experienced mental or physical trauma, consider looking at therapeutic solutions like counseling to help you overcome the stuff in your life that gets you down and makes you feel primarily negative.
Leadership
Another characteristic that employers want to see in the talent they hire is leadership potential. Jobs you apply for might not be leadership roles, but they could present future opportunities for candidates to progress to supervisory or management positions.
In the business world, a leader is someone willing to volunteer for assignments, take charge of situations, and not make or use excuses as part of their decisions. A leader is also someone willing to perform at high levels.
Personality
Lastly, you will need to be happy with the culture that employers want to create at their workplaces. Hiring managers typically look for candidates with personality and are friendly, easygoing yet can also act with integrity and professionalism.
If you find it easy to get on with people in most situations and can tame even the most cynical or grumpiest of co-workers, you have the personality traits that employers want to see in candidates.