You know what’s funny about the hiring process? You read the job advertisement, and you imagine that employers are looking for a specific type of experience and that they are very strict with regard to your academic and scientific qualifications. This is all you see in the job description: a long list of required qualifications, many years of experience, and strange technical certificates!
However, once you get to the job interview stage, things change dramatically because employers are looking for qualities in applicants that are not mentioned in the job description.They want to meet responsible, self-reliant people, and you will be able to demonstrate these qualities not only in your answers to the questions you are asked but also in the questions you ask the hiring manager. In today’s article, we have compiled a list of the most important personal qualities that attract a hiring manager, and education is not one of them.
1- The ability to understand your own path
Each of us has a special path to follow from birth to death. Can you tell your own story in a way that shows the person in front of you how you pursued a hobby or passion and how you got to where you are today? Can you talk about the path you would like to take in the future?
Being able to do this is a valuable quality that employers pay close attention to because it shows your commitment and intellectual maturity.
2- Know exactly what you want in your career.
Hiring managers are looking for self-directed applicants, and here’s exactly what that means: They’re looking for people who know exactly what they want and work hard to get it. You need to learn all about the business before doing this. “Can I tell the hiring manager that I want to be an entrepreneur in the future?”
And the answer is: of course you can! The hiring managers will appreciate your ambition, as your motivation is undoubtedly better than someone who applied for the job in order to obtain a job that guarantees him an income only at the end of the month! Always remember: employers like to hire people who have goals and work hard to achieve them.
3- The ability to talk about your successes in work and life
What thoughts would come to mind if someone asked you or asked you to tell them a story about a situation in which you felt victorious? Do you have the ability to talk correctly about your successes and achievements, free from arrogance?
It is not necessary that you have won the Olympic Games or climbed the Himalayas; you can just talk about a situation that happened to you at work in which you managed to solve a problem or helped your colleagues complete an urgent task.
4- Know your strengths
Hiring managers are looking for candidates who know their strengths and can speak about them with confidence. Saying, for example, “I’m good at working on PowerPoint” is not enough; maybe I’m not honest! Alternatively, you could say, “I love working on PowerPoint, and I love helping others learn it and know the ins and outs of using it like so-and-so…
The difference between the two sentences is clear. In the second sentence, the speaker’s ability to express his strengths and distinctive skills that can add value to the company becomes clear.
5- Independent thinking
Of course there are some managers who don’t want to hire independent thinkers, but why would you waste your time working for someone like that?
Real, successful managers want to hire people with their own creative ideas. They are looking for smart people to help them brainstorm, so why not be that person?
6- Ability to solve problems
There is no doubt that you have solved a lot of problems in your life; everyone has done so.In fact, did you know that a young child has performed over 50 thousand physics experiments before entering the nursery? (using mostly water, mud, and animal food). Make sure you focus on your problem-solving skills during the job interview. Talk about a situation where you were able to improve a process in your previous job. or an idea you came up with to complete a task. Business managers love and are attracted to those who have this skill and implement it in practical life.
7- Ambition
To have ambition means that you have set a goal in front of your eyes and that you strive to be stronger, smarter, and more successful during your life. Ambition may indicate your desire to climb the career ladder in the company, create your own project, or set out to work in a new field completely different from what you are doing now. Hiring managers love to see you talk about your ambition, as this quality attracts their interest and increases your chances of getting the job.
8- Entrepreneurial spirit
An employee with initiative does not wait for someone to tell him what to do. He rushes into action immediately if he finds a way to help his co-workers. One way you show this is by asking the hiring manager questions during a job interview, which unfortunately not many people doway to help his co-workers. One way you show this is by asking the hiring manager questions during a job interview, which unfortunately not many people do. If you want to get the hiring manager’s attention, don’t hesitate to ask questions about the job you’re applying for. Show him that you are considering this position and would like to know more about it.
9- The desire to learn new things
There is no doubt that you have worked with someone who hates learning something new, as you hear him fidget and complain every time he has to acquire a new skill. Or maybe you are one of those people, and if you are, you’re really missing out on a lot. Nothing is better or more important than being able to learn anything new.Every time you acquire a new skill or change the way you perform your work to an easier and more efficient methodology, you develop yourself and expand your horizons.
Hiring managers understand the importance of this and focus a lot on it during the job interview stage. So be sure to show it and acquire this important skill.
10- The ability to set goals
If you are someone who likes to set goals and then work towards achieving them, then be sure to make that clear during the job interview. Talk about your own experience in achieving a specific goal, for example, getting 100 readers for your blog on the Internet. What did you do to achieve this goal? And what are the steps you followed? Hiring managers are looking for this quality in job candidates, and being able to set the right smart goals is a significant advantage, even if it has nothing to do with your academic background or university degrees.
11- Team work skills
Every manager you ask to work in his company will tell you about the importance of teamwork and its role in achieving the development and growth of the company. Always be ready to answer a question like this: “Tell us about your performance on the team.” Make sure your response is an interesting (true) story about a problem you encountered at work that required a team effort to solve. Talk about your team’s success in overcoming this problem. Hiring managers are attracted to people who can get along with their colleagues and work with them positively and efficiently.
12- Having a sense of responsibility
Finally, hiring managers want to find people who can take responsibility for their actions, their words, and the situations they put them in. So, do not hesitate to mention the responsibilities you received during your previous job, during your studies at the university, or during your practical training. Also, do not be shy about talking about experiences that are not related to the labor market. Babysitting, for example, indicates a high sense of responsibility as a result of the dedication and attention that caring for them requires. The same goes for many other life situations.
From the foregoing, it is clear to us that despite the importance of a strong academic background and experience related to the job field, these things will only lead you to the job interview stage, and unless you enhance your qualifications with appropriate skills and important personal qualities, you will not be able to get your dream job.
Always make sure to balance your personal qualities with your academic qualifications to ensure that you attract the attention of hiring managers during the job interview stage.
Read also: How to submit an online job application ?
