There is no denying that the due to increase in demand of work traits and skills career, job market has become highly competitive. And getting a job or finding a job sometimes becomes different. In such a situation, a job interview becomes an important phase for the recruiter as well as for the applicant.
To stand out and land the job of your dreams, you need to be likable and competitive. The interview is usually the first analysis of the competency of a candidate and the best way to convince the employer that you are worthy of a job. Interviewers generally ask questions to discover the information they want to know, but it's up to you how you respond.
The key to winning any interview is to gain an edge by meeting more criteria than your competitors. Job seekers most often think the qualities they show in their resume and interview are what matters. But, it is not the only criteria employers consider before hiring candidates.
Qualities Employers Looks For Before Hiring
As an employer, while they hire staff, it becomes important for them to look beyond the hard skills or technical skills. Because the recruiter is aware that when it comes to identifying the right candidate for the position, those so-called "hard skills" are only half of the things that matter, and considering soft skills or personal qualities for a job are equally important. Infact combination of both hard skills and soft skills are considered as top strengths employers look for and having these good qualities in a person for a job is always preferred by the companies.
So, what are soft skills if a hard skill is a technical knowledge for a certain job? The term "soft skills" refers to a set of personal qualities or personality traits and social characteristics that make a person a good employee who has good qualities for a job responsibilities to handle.
Many individuals have the proper degrees, abilities, and knowledge to perform a job, but they may turn out to be completely unmatchable for the roles for which they had been hired. Some of these new hires, despite their good looks and experience, are unmotivated, dishonest, or simply complicated to work with.
While hard skills for employment can be taught, soft skills or personal qualities are more ingrained in a person's personality and are more difficult to learn on the job. Therefore in the process of the interview, to make sure hirers select a perfect fit, they ask you questions and involve you more in the conversation process to listen to your responses, your attitude while replying to them.
To put it another way, how you present yourself has more of an impact than the facts about yourself you bring to the table. So, to help you out, here is the list of some of the positive work attributes which are amd are must have to satisfy the requirements for a job and are obvious qualities and top skills employers look for. Exhibit them in your personal interview.
There are some subtler job's top traits that employers look for along with top skills employers want. Make sure to learn to get yourself hired.
1. Your Zeal For Work
A fair sense of enthusiasm and desire for a certain role never harm in an interview, as long as you don't go overboard.
It's critical to show employers that you're interested in the applied post in the early phases of the interview process and that you'll bring that interest to the workplace if you're picked. Showing up at the interview venue early, actively asking questions to clear doubt if necessary, and attentively listening are all signs of a motivated candidate.
2. Your First Influence
The phrase "first impressions are lasting impressions" is often true. When it refers to landing a job, your attitude is crucial. Your shoes reveal your personality, your lipstick reveals your bravery, and your tattoos occasionally reveal your true colors. It's all about how well you handle the interview.
A job interview isn't as vital as first impressions. You've already been evaluated on your appearance and attire before you've even had an opportunity to discuss your abilities. An interview process is not the time to show off your latest fashion statement. Your potential employer should notice that you are serious about the interview and how you have dressed professionally.
3. Multitasking
Employers are increasingly looking for multitasking qualities in their job applicants. A recent study found that the majority of employers believe that multitasking is one of the most important skills an applicant can have.
Companies that are hiring, need individuals who are willing to step outside of their responsibilities and do whatever is required, therefore they aim to hire people who can handle a multiple tasks.
Though not widespread in MNCs, such practices are common in small businesses.
The study also found that employers value other qualities such as creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills. However, multitasking was seen as the skill that is most likely to be transferred to the workplace.
This trend is likely to continue in the coming years, as employers look for employees who can handle multiple tasks at once.
4. Communication Skills
What comes after the impression is your communications. Communication Skills have become one of the most important skills that every company expects their employees to be excelled at.
A memorable interview requires the ability to confidently convey a viewpoint avoiding stumbling on your words or misunderstanding yourself or your interviewers. If you are eventually recruited, this soft talent will be required in many areas of your career, so demonstrating your ability to attentively listen and then reply confidently with very well responses will go a good way.
It's also essential to be able to prove your abilities then instead of enumerating "strong communication skills" on your resume. How you communicate is demonstrated in your CV and cover letter.
As a result, make sure you write them well. Revise and improve them. Proofread them and utilize the grammar and spelling checkers that are included with most word processors. Make sure that you aren't using the same cover letter for every job application; instead, personalize each one.
5. Your Intelligence
What comes to mind when you consider intelligence? SAT or IQ scores that are exceptionally high? Someone well-versed in the field of literature? Is there anyone out there who can communicate in multiple languages?
Intelligence is the most crucial quality for a job candidate. It is essential for employees in almost every field and position. When interviewers ask about your intelligence, they are looking to get a sense of your problem-solving abilities, thinking processes, and general knowledge.
There are a few ways to showcase your intelligence during an interview. You can talk about a challenging problem you solved or share a clever solution you came up with. You can also describe how you gathered and processed information to come to a decision. Whatever approach you take, make sure you are specific and provide examples.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to recognize when, where, and why emotions are being expressed. It enables one to then take appropriate action as a way of expressing these emotions more productively.
Here are three methods you can use to show emotional intelligence during the interview process.
- Listening Carefully
Instead of concentrating on a response to being asked, concentrate entirely upon that question itself. Don't try giving in to the pressure of having to respond to the question right away. Instead of a speedy response, interviewers are looking for a meaningful reaction one that shows you are not providing them a scripted response. In your own words, rephrase the question, try and understand it correctly. If you're not sure if you're answering the question correctly, check with the person who asked it.
- Express Your Emotions
Because of their anxiousness, many interviewees appear quite stiff and tightly controlled. It's not only OK to display emotion, but the correct emotions will help you impress the interviewer. Smiling is always excellent, as long as it doesn't appear forced or inauthentic. If genuine, showing passion and eagerness is also beneficial. The limitation is that no emotions should be forced. If the recruiters get the impression that you are posing as somebody other than yourself, they will be suspicious of you and your chances of winning the job will be reduced. So go ahead and naturally express to impress.
- Ask Your Queries
We are usually asked whether we have any questions after an interview. This is a fantastic chance for you to show off your emotional intelligence.
Inquire about the organization's culture and principles, as well as what it needs for people to succeed there. Bring up any great interactions you've had with individuals in their company or customers in the past, as well as your observations. It will demonstrate that you are absolutely interested in the job as well as also curious about to know how you will belong into the organization. This shows them that you understand how critical it is to match their demands to your own. And your conversation and your knowledge will aid them in making their decision regarding selection.
So, using these main ways to express your emotional intelligence will help you to get better with the recruitment team as well as you'll get to know the much-required information that you wish to get.
6. Resilience
In any job, there will be times when things don't go as planned. You may encounter difficult customers, challenging projects, or a boss who is never satisfied. How you react to these situations can determine your success or failure in the long run.
For achieving success, being resilient is very important. Resilience means being able to dust yourself off after a setback and keep moving forward. It means having the strength to keep going when things are tough.
Recruiters often want to see the capacity of their candidates. Therefore, it is one of the crucial among top qualities employers look for.
Many companies have faced losses in recent years. The downfall of the company has made them experience the worst situation. Since employees are the foundation of any company, it becomes critical to check the resilience of the candidate. They ask them to share the difficult situation candidate has faced in his professional life and how they faced it. Also, recruiters ask situation-based questions to candidates to judge them well based upon their answers. So, if you're one of the people who are weak at being resilient, make sure to adopt this quality in you for getting the golden opportunity of getting a job in the company you always wished to join.
7. Positive Outlook
A positive outlook is often closely connected with the resilience attribute. Because positive attitude helps one to be resilient and keep working for better days.
Keeping a cheerful attitude throughout the interview will help you and the interviewer connect positively. Because it entails looking at your skillsets from a positive perspective, a positive attitude can even increase your self-confidence at an interview.
Creating a positive attitude is never easy and it needs you to practice gratitude and mindfulness. Once you've gotten into the habit of having a positive attitude, it'll be easy to put yourself in a positive frame of mind for your interview. This will come in handy not only in job search scenarios but in any situation if you felt rushed or out of sync.
8. Crucial Decision Maker
The ability to make sound decisions is a critical skill for any job applicant. Since decision making is crucial good work traits employers look for, therefore they want to genuinely understand whether you can think on your feet and if are capable of problem-solving. When making a decision, it is important to weigh all of the options and consider the possible consequences of each choice.
Some people are better at making decisions than others. Some people can make quick, instinctive decisions, while others take more time to gather information and analyze all of the options. It becomes important to have knowledge of your own decision-making style and understand how it affects your work.
Employers are looking for employees with quality decision-making skills. They want people who can identify problems and apply potential solutions quickly and efficiently. Poor decision-making skills can lead to a lot of negative consequences in the workplace, such as missed opportunities, loss of money, and even safety hazards.
When employers are looking to fill a position, they will often ask questions that assess an applicant's decision-making ability. One of the common questions interviewers ask to check decision making quality is :
- Which decisions were difficult for you to take in your life?
9. Problem-Solving Skills
Every job needs a bit of problem-solving and diagonal thinking, and you'll probably have to do it on your own with minimal aid from your coworkers or management.
In general, interviewers will be keen to know about your problem-solving skills and therefore they will ask for instances of incidents when you worked individually (or occasionally as part of the team) to address problems in previous employment. They'll also be interested in learning how your activities affected individuals around you. Having some examples on hand will eliminate the need to think too hard.
10. Leadership Skills
These important skills may not appear to be very relevant in the early phases of an interview for a position that does not require team management. Displaying earlier on that you can work well with others in a group and give a helping hand whenever needed can go a long way. Giving examples of this in the interview could help you move up the career ladder faster once you've gotten your foot in the door.
In an interview, an applicant is required to be nice and respectful to people they meet.
11. Goal Targeted
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
Describe your own success?
how joining our company will help you to meet your goals?
These are some of the questions that during the interview employers will throw at you to know whether you are a goal-oriented person or not.
So how you can help yourself?
When an interviewer questions you about your goals, they aren't just trying to find out if you're ambitious. They're also looking to see if you have the skills and motivation necessary to succeed in the role they're hiring for.
Your answer to this question can show the interviewer how well you understand the position and how much you want it. It can also give them a glimpse into your work ethic and how you handle setbacks.
To get the most out of this question, be sure to frame your answer in a way that highlights your skills and motivation.
Interviewers are often looking for indications that the job applicant is goal-oriented. They want to judge you based on the plans you have and that you’re motivated to achieve your goals.
The best way to approach an interview is by having a goal in mind. You want to be remembered as the candidate who was focused and driven, not the one who was nervous and unsure. When you are aware of the aim of the interview, you can better focus your efforts.
Some goals you may want to set for yourself include: making a great first impression, demonstrating your skills and knowledge, or networking with other professionals. Whatever your goal may be, make sure you are prepared for it and have a strategy to achieve it.
12. Dependability
Many employers these days are seeking individuals who are not only skilled but also dependable. During the interview process, be sure to showcase qualities that demonstrate your dependability. One way to do this is to provide specific examples of times when you have gone above and beyond what was expected of you.
Employers also appreciate individuals who are proactive and take initiative. Showcase examples of times when you identified a problem and took steps to fix it, or when you came up with a new idea to improve productivity or efficiency. Dependability and proactivity are two qualities that are highly sought after in the workplace, so be sure.
13. Integrity
Employers are increasingly looking for individuals with integrity. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
Employers need to find individuals who have integrity because they are the foundation of a company. Individuals with integrity are more likely, to be honest in their dealings with others, be less likely to engage in unethical behavior, and be more likely to make ethical decisions.
To assess an applicant’s moral character, questions that employers mainly ask questions based on the situation where they ask integrity-based situational questions.
14. Strategic Thinking
Employers are increasingly looking for strategic thinkers when hiring for junior positions. The ability to think strategically is a key skill in any industry and can be the difference between success and failure.
What does it mean to think strategically? In the most general sense, it means being able to see the big picture and identify opportunities and potential threats. It’s about being able to think ahead and come up with creative solutions to problems.
15. Dedication
Candidates who are passionate about the job are more likely to be successful in their roles. They are also more likely to be committed to their work and their company. This dedication will help them stay motivated and focused during their tenure with the company, which will result in better work performance.
The ideal candidate for the job is passionate about it. They should have a strong interest in the field and be able to communicate that to employers. They should also be able to show a willingness to learn and grow in the position.
So, these are the best qualities for a job and good traits to have a job that employers often check-in job applicants and consider these skills as top strengths.
What if you don't have any of the common job traits that helps getting hired?
Even if you don't have any of the good qualities to have for a job and that are being assessed during the interview, there are still things you can do to improve your good work qualities, learn these career skills and make yourself a more appealing candidate. Start by doing some research and focusing on developing those qualities. You can initiate improving yourself in lackings by joining classes, reading books, or practicing your skills.
Highlight your strengths on your resume and during the job interview emphasize your unique qualities, share incidents that showcase your soft skills, and how you are a great fit for the position.
How to showcase your personality traits in the personal interview?
Sharing your work experience is easy to mention on the resume but portraying your personal qualities on a resume is impossible.
When you’re interviewing for a job, it becomes the task of the interviewer to know you and understand you. Thus the interviewer tries to find whether you have the personality traits for jobs and work ethic that will be a good fit for the company.
So, one way to showcase your personality is to talk about your hobbies, interests and strengths employers look for.
The best thing you can do this is to be genuine and authentic. Don’t try to pretend to be someone you’re not. Instead, let your personality shine through. Share stories about your hobbies and interests, and talk about why you enjoy them.
Final Thoughts
It's commonly assumed that hard skills will earn you an interview, but soft skills will help you land the job – and maintain it. And if you feel it's difficult to face the personal interview then let me tell you, personal interviews are nothing more than an opportunity to advertise yourself and convince them that you will be the right person for the position. You must display your qualities and skills in such a way that employer should see your personality matching with their preferences recuiter have when employer looking for employees.
Some of the questions that the hirer throws at you that test your logical reasoning, are how fast you can think, how you produce practical solutions on them.
If you come across such inquiries, don't panic and don't try to respond quickly without thinking about your response because you're excited or nervous. Take a few seconds to ponder; this demonstrates confidence and aggressiveness, not weakness. However, don't try to create your entire response right away; instead, offer one or two sensible things. This provides you time to consider your options to highlight your personal attributes for a job requirements.
To get the job you want, you need to understand the about the qualities jobs look for and showcase your qualities, characteristics employers look for in an employee and you should express yourself to them in such a way that they get convince that you have good character traits for a job.
In this post, we have explored some personal qualities that can help increase the chances of you getting the job.
If you have any questions or would like to add more to this article, please leave your suggestions in the comment box. Join us to keep yourself updated. Thank You!!!
