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OCT 4, 2012 @ 12:05 PM 608,005 VIEWS
Meghan Casserly , FORBES STAFF
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Top FivePersonality TraitsEmployers HireMost
I don't care about your degree. Are you the right guy for the job?
I know you: You’ve made lookingfor your next job, well… your job.You’ve scoured your resume ofclichéd buzzwords, brushed up onbody language and even gotten a
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handle on the dreaded videointerview.
But all that might be for naught ifyou just don’t have the personalityyour dream employer is looking for.New research shows that the vastmajority of employers (88%) arelooking for a “cultural fit” overskills in their next hire as more andmore companies focus on attritionrates. Lucky for you, we’ve drilleddown into data from 1,200 of theworld’s leading employers (thinkGeneral Electric , P&G andAccenture ) to find precisely thepersonalities big business is lookingfor.
Universum, the Stockholmbasedemployer branding firm thatannually surveys over 400,000students and professionalsworldwide on jobsrelated issues,has culled their data to the top fivepersonality traits employersare looking for in job candidatesin 2012. How’s that for a leg up onthe competition?
“We surveyed employers to get ahandle on the challenges that facethem in hiring,” says Joao Araujo of
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Universum. “What are they lookingfor in employees and what are theynot finding?” By identifying bothtraits, he says, aspiring jobapplicants can both identify themost sought after traits—and brushup resumes and interview tactics tobest position themselves.
Professionalism (86%), highenergy (78%) and confidence(61%) are the top three traitsemployers say they are looking forin new hires. Kathy Harris ,managing director of Manhattanbased executive search firm HarrisAllied says these firstimpressiontraits are the most critical foremployers to prepare for as they allcan be evaluated by a recruiter orhiring manager within the first 30seconds of meeting a candidate.
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The Forbes Ebook: Find And KeepYour Dream Job The Definitive Careers Guide From Forbesencompasses every aspect of the job hunt frominterview to promotion. Written by some of Forbes’ bestcareers and leadership writers, it is available now fordownload.
“A manager can read you themoment you walk in the door,” shesays; from the clothes you wear tothe way you stand to the grip ofyour first handshake, presentingyourself as a confident, energeticprofessional is about as basic ascareer advice gets. But don’t be offput by this commonplace advice.Harris, who specialized in highlevel executive placement says eventhe most seasoned of CEOs can gettripped up by the basics.Universum clients agree:confidence ranks highest on the listof skills companies think employeesare missing most.
“We remind every candidate of themost granular advice,” she says.The most successful applicant is theone who walks into every interviewwith her hand outstretched for ahandshake, has done her homeworkon the interviewer and company
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and is dressed to fit effortlessly intothe culture of the workplace.
The remaining personality traitsthat Universum clients say arecritical in the hiring process aren’tones that can be read onsight butinstead call for both resume andinterview preparation. To presentyourself as a selfmonitoring(58%) personality type, Harris saysto adjust resume language to callattention to work experience whereyou’ve worked independently orexcelled without the guidance ofdirect leadership. “In interviews,chose anecdotes that show howyou’ve saved, made or achieved inprevious positions… and how selfmotivation was critical to thatsuccess.”
Intellectual curiosity (57%) is,fittingly, a curious trait for Harris,who says she generally advisesclients to tightly edit the “hobbiesand interests” sections of theirresumes. “I’d imagine that inlooking for intellectual curiosityemployers are looking for twothings,” she says. “The ability toproblem solve and the ongoingdedication to learning new
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technologies or solutions that willcontinue to advance in the changingworkplace.” Employers are askingthemselves whether new hires willbe with the company for the longterm, she says. An employee whowill grudgingly adopt a newdatabase is not as attractive as onewho is truly passionate aboutlearning new things.
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