Good employees don't have to know and understand everything, but should be smart enough to learn the things they need to perform their job. That is why recruiters often focus on hiring naturally intelligent job seekers who are able to learn. The ability to learn itself is, however, not enough. The best employees are also interested in learning and are self-motivated enough to do something for themselves and for their companies.
An interesting reflection on this topic was recently published on TLNT.com. Tim Sackett, author of the article titled The One, Single Trait That Separates Great Hires, has more than 20 years of experience in HR. He is convinced that the most important characteristic of a good employee in any field is optimism. Try to think about who your best people are, and you will find out they these people are not pessimists. They are the ones who look for solutions to emerging situations and who believe they can find them.
How can you identify an optimist at a job interview?
Start by asking job applicants directly what makes them optimistic in their lives. Pessimists usually have problems answering this question. Optimists, on the contrary, tend to answer quickly and with enthusiasm about something that has meaning in their lives.
Then ask the candidates to describe a situation from their own experience when something they were responsible for went wrong. You want to know how they dealt with it and what they learned. Finally, ask them to imagine they are working on an important project and their employer suddenly announces the project is being cancelled. Ask if something similar happened to them or how they would react if this happened.
Remember that surrounding yourself by optimistically-minded people helps to create a better corporate culture and teamwork. Optimists can change the world for the better, and can do the same for your business.
-kk-