Perfect employee? What features do employers look for in candidates?

During the recruitment process, recruiters try to select a candidate who will have the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience. The attitudes and predispositions of applicants are also gaining more and more importance. It happens that HR specialists receive from their boss a whole list of features that an ideal employee should have. What do employers expect from employed people?

Perfect employee - features

As part of the "Employee Attitudes" project, a study was carried out to create a set of characteristics of an ideal employee. The employers' responses indicate that the candidate should:

• be responsible - 79%,

• meet their obligations - 77%,

• engage in performed duties - 76%,

• be communicative - 76%,

• show willingness to cooperate - 74%,

• be loyal to the employer - 62%,

• deal with stress well - 67%,

• be open to changes - 65%,

• have the ability to make autonomous decisions - 63%,

• be creative - 62%,

• demonstrate an innovative attitude - 55%.

It is puzzling that creativity and innovation, commonly recognized as desirable by employers, were rated so low in the above ranking. Responsibility as well as conscientiousness and commitment to the duties entrusted to them remain the most important. Bosses want to rely on the employees they hire.

Communication skills and willingness to cooperate are also important for entrepreneurs. The ability to work in a group is particularly important, because more and more often in the workplace, employees work in different teams of employees. Adoption of the project mode of operation forces cooperation with colleagues who have the best qualifications to carry out a given project. Task groups are not created on the basis of friendly ties, but on the competences and knowledge of employees.

Features of an ideal employee - student or graduate

In 2014, the Career Office of the Vistula Academy of Finance and Business conducted an Employer Needs Survey. The respondents were asked to indicate the features they look for in employed students and graduates.

The results of the survey indicate that substantive knowledge and knowledge of foreign languages ​​is important for employers, but as many as 90% of companies pay attention to the ability to apply knowledge in practice in the recruitment process. This means that students and graduates who gained their first professional experience during their studies have a greater chance on the labor market. Entrepreneurs also appreciate activity in student organizations and scientific associations.

Employers are more likely to hire graduates who have well-developed interpersonal skills and personal competences, which include:

• effective communication,

• ability to work in a team,

• coping with stress,

• ease of building new interpersonal relationships,

• ability to solve problems,

• independence in the implementation of projects,

• showing initiative,

• the ability to plan and organize your own working time.

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The ideal employee - what is it?

The results of the presented research indicate that currently employees must have very well-developed interpersonal skills. Employed persons should also be able to cope with stress and find themselves in a crisis situation. The ability to make autonomous decisions and independence are also approved by employers. Creativity and innovation are less important, although in the knowledge-based economy these features should be the basic criteria for choosing a job.