It’s important to not only hire for what someone can do, but for personal attributes as well, the Time Business article “When Hiring, Evaluate Soft Skills for Hard Gains” explains. Hiring a new employee is always a risky endeavor. No matter how diligent you are, you very rarely know exactly what you’re going to get. But you can increase your chances of a successful hire by evaluating these soft skills in prospective employees.

Initiative

Are they able to identify issues and correct them independently, or will they wait until someone tells them to do it? Ask the candidates do describe a situation where they “stepped up to the plate” in a previous job.

Agility

Just because a potential candidate doesn’t have experience directly related to the position you’re trying to fill doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not right for the job. If their work experience shows an ability to adapt to various roles, they might be worth a shot.

Follow-through

Nobody wants an employee that’s not going to do what they’re is told or what they say they’re going to do. Evaluate this by assigning tests or tasks for candidates to complete by a deadline.

Self-awareness

Good decision-making requires critical thinking, and critical thinking requires self-awareness. Ask potential employees to tell you about a situation where they made a decision that went against a personal bias.

Company awareness

If a candidate comes to an interview with a thorough understanding of your company and what it stands for, they likely have a genuine desire to work there and/or strong initiative and good research skills.

Ability to apply their experiences

If they encounter a situation they’ve never been in before, will they be able to handle it? Gauge intelligence and flexibility by proposing a hypothetical problem outside of their past experience and seeing how they apply the knowledge they do have to the new scenario.

Attire

If someone doesn’t dress to impress for an interview, it’s unlikely that they’ll make the effort to be presentable once they have the job.

Reputation

Place high priority on what references and former colleagues have to say about a candidate. Remember to take a look online and on social media as well.

Click here to read the article from Time Business.