Hiring The Best For The Job: The Top 5 Character Traits To Look For In A Job Candidate

Communication – The applicant has to be able to properly and clearly communicate with co-workers, site managers, and customers, among others. Having instructions get misstated, or be unclear, can negatively impact your business. A candidate must be able to concisely communicate instructions, safety information, deadlines, and budget restrictions when necessary. Confusion on the job site, or in the office, can lead to possible added expenses and/or injuries.

Time Management – Sometimes at a construction site, or on a line in a factory, an employee may be left unsupervised for extended periods of time. When this happens, you have to know that they are making the most of their time on the clock. If they are not very good at prioritizing their tasks and managing their time, they could end up wasting most of their time rather than utilizing it. This can run into budget issues, deadline problems, and production issues. It can throw your schedule off for completing a job on the building site.

Problem Solving – Problems will always pop up when you least expect them. From running out of nails, to a machine breaking down, to another employee not showing up for work — there will be days where if something can go wrong, it will. Knowing that you have an individual in place who can take care of those problems can give you peace of mind and open you up to applying your time and attention to other important issues. Hiring someone who can cover another employee’s shift, who can find additional nails to finish up a particular project, or who can get your project fixed in an expedited manner will be someone you will be glad to have working for your company.

Passion for the Job – If you have an employee on a construction site, or in the design office, who is not passionate about their line of work, you could be missing out on a valuable input source. Someone who knows the details of their career can offer opinions on helpful updates, innovative ways to do things, and safety suggestions. They can also help train other employees as needed, and they can turn out to be a valuable part of your team. Passion for the job can lead to a happy employer, and an even happier employee.

Business Aware – Not only does the ideal candidate have passion for their field of expertise, they are also aware of the business aspects of the field. Understanding that there is more to the job than just getting it done — it has to be done right, on time, and on budget is an important quality to look for in a candidate. They understand that there may be a schedule to watch out for, quality control to contend with, and materials that will have ordered — and they are aware that there are other businesses out there that their company is competing with.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com