The 9 Traits You Should Look For in a High Quality Candidate

When you're evaluating job applicants, there are a variety of ideal employee traits you should seek out. While some people stretch the truth in their resumes and put on a face in their interviews, a perceptive hiring manager can usually pick up on these things quickly. Many traits that are visible in how the applicant approaches the hiring process can tip you off to how they would actually perform on the job. Building a successful team means finding the candidates who embody the ideal employee skills, so here are 9 of the qualities you should look for in a job candidate.

1. A drive for self-improvement

A drive for self-improvement is one of the most important employee traits. Often, candidates who strive to always improve in their work also apply this trait to all aspects of their lives. Dedication to self-improvement may present itself as a tendency toward constant self-education, whether by keeping up on trends in their industry or by expanding their general knowledge about the topics that personally interest them. Someone who is committed to always growing and recognizes that this is an ongoing process is less likely to become complacent with their work and fall into mediocrity.

2. Organization

Organization is crucial in order to perform well in any job, so it’s always an asset. Being organized means the employee can manage their emails and appointments and will not forget to follow through even when things get busy. One of the first signs to look for is punctuality—is the candidate on time for their interview? Someone who is unable to keep organized throughout the job seeking process is unlikely to be organized when they need to multi-task on the job.

3. Adaptability

Adaptability is one of the job candidate traits that impress hiring managers because organizations and industries are always changing. The ideal employee is able to keep up with these changes and can also acclimate to a new job quickly. If they’ve been able to thrive in a variety of environments in their previous job experience, this is a sign that they’ll be able to adapt to your environment too.

4. Leadership abilities

Even for job positions that do not directly involve leadership, the ability to lead is an important quality to have. A good leader is always ready to emerge when the situation calls for it—for instance, when no one else is taking ownership of a project. Leaders are the people who will step up and take responsibility and make sure everyone on the team is performing.

5. Being a team player

Being a team player is not in contrast with leadership abilities. The best leaders are those that consider the best interests of their teams and the organization as a whole. If they only care about their own goals, they’ll be less likely to cooperate in order to find the right solution. Look for good interpersonal skills that show the candidate will get along well with others.

6. Dedication to hard work

Talent and skills count for a lot, but it’s also important that candidates are willing to work hard. Otherwise, your organization doesn’t get the full benefit of the employee’s skills. Is the candidate someone who will just get things done when the situation calls for it? Ask candidates about projects they’ve worked on before to see how dedicated they were in previous jobs.

7. Engagement

Someone who is engaged during hiring process is likely to be engaged on the job. Do they ask perceptive questions during the interview? This shows that they’re being attentive to what you’re saying and picking up on important points about your organization. It also may reveal that they were interested enough to research your organization in advance. Additionally, see if they’re engaged throughout the recruiting process, meaning they respond quickly to emails and really seem like they care about getting the job.

8. Attention to detail

Attention to detail is another trait that makes a difference in any position—and it’s something that’s easy to spot during the hiring process. Check that resumes are error-free. Even if spelling and grammar are not a candidate’s strong suit and not important to the job, a serious candidate will have made the effort to ensure their resume is polished. Of course, this is not the only way to ensure that a candidate pays attention to detail. You may also want to ask candidates to submit examples of their work or to perform a task they’d actually have to do on the job.

9. Fitting in with your company culture

Someone who fits in with your company culture is far more likely to adjust well to the job and be happy in your office. These are the employees who will stay with your company long-term. This is not to say you shouldn’t seek out candidates who can bring something different to the table—because you absolutely should—but it helps if their values and even their personality are in line with your organization. This shows that in addition to possessing the necessary skills, they’re the right candidate for your company specifically.

These are the 9 traits you should search for when performing your job candidate evaluation. Because finding the right employee is a tricky and complex business, some organizations choose to outsource their hiring process to save the time. Staffing firms are experienced in sorting through applicants and finding the ones that embody the ideal employee traits. However you approach the hiring process, your organization will benefit from having an employee who possesses a combination of these 9 traits.

If you're looking for candidates that possess these 9 traits, or have other staffing needs, contact J&J staffing today!

J & J Staffing Resources OPEN HOUSE for the TRI-STATE AREA 6/16

J & J Staffing Resources is holding a company-wide open house on Tuesday, June 16^th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.! Demand for qualified candidates is skyrocketing and great local companies are hiring!

Do you know someone who is currently looking for a position in the Tri-State area? Pass along J & J’s information and let them know about our open house! Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one who connects them to the rewarding position they've been looking for.

The job market can be a difficult place to navigate at the best of times. Sometimes, it's tough to know exactly what positions would be a good fit for you. Trawling through pages of job ads wondering which one might be right for you and tweaking your resume in the hopes of getting an interview is a daunting task. J & J's experts will guide you through this process so you can be confident that you’re getting a position that is exactly what you're looking for.

J & J is a functional staffing firm specializing in filling office, industrial, technical, and professional staffing needs and is looking for great people to fill multiple positions! J & J has opportunities available for temporary, temp to hire, and direct hire positions. J & J's trained professionals will sit down with you and take the time to understand your skill set and help you find an opportunity that fits your needs and strengths.

We work with hundreds of successful businesses throughout the Tri-State Area, placing over 7,500 people to work last year! Take advantage of our Tri-State Area open house on June 16^th and get matched with an opportunity that's right for you.

Call your local J & J office for more details!

Cherry Hill, NJ (856) 751-5050
Princeton, NJ (609) 452-2030
Ewing/Trenton, NJ (609) 530-1100
Woodbury, NJ (856) 464-0020
Bridgeport, NJ (856) 467-9099
Langhorne, PA (215) 752-0500
Horsham, PA (215) 773-9773
Newark DE (302) 738-7800

Administrative Professionals Day is April 24th!

Honoring the professionals who make offices work!

Modern business is a storm. Modern office professionals bring order. They take the swirl of international commerce and give it cohesion. Every April for 61 years, the International Association of Administrative Professionals has been asking businesses around the world to show gratitude for the people who get the job done in their office. Please join J & J in celebrating Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. We’re honoring the office professionals who make offices work.

Since 1952, the International Association of Administrative Professionals has honored office workers by sponsoring Administrative Professionals Week. Today, it is one of the largest workplace observances outside of employee birthdays and major holidays.  Today, there are more than 4.1 million administrative assistants working in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, and 8.9 million people working in various administrative support roles. 

Take this opportunity to say Thank You to those 

people in your office that get the job done!

Getting the Job Done: Best Practices for Deadlines and Goals

If you’re a hiring manager, you certainly know how challenging it can be to find the right person for the position you’re trying to fill. Time and time again, you’ve brought onto your team qualified, talented people with a wealth of background experience in their selected fields. Yet, once they start working, you notice something is amiss. 

Perhaps deadlines just aren’t being met or the employee does great work but doesn’t get enough done. Maybe tasks that should take a handful of hours to complete turn into long, drawn-out projects. While these issues can definitely be troubling, in most cases the solution to these problems can be something as simple as setting the right goals and deadlines.

Often times, the biggest obstacle for new employees to overcome is getting a good grip on how long it takes to complete particular tasks. While they have experience dealing with the tasks you’re assigning them, it’s important to remember that every company handles deadlines and goals differently. 

The next time you see your new employee is having trouble getting things done, try the following:

Make Instructions Abundantly Clear 

Sometimes an employee may not realize how complicated a task actually is and could end up missing deadlines due to not prioritizing correctly. If you feel that a project or assignment is fairly complex, you will want to make your instructions as clear as possible. This results in fewer questions for you later and a more thorough understanding of the task for the worker.

Set Realistic Deadlines

 

Setting deadlines can be tricky, especially when you are dealing with a new hire. Try to remember that a new employee will need a little extra time to get through tasks as he or she is still learning what’s expected of him or her. Try not to set tight deadlines initially unless absolutely necessary.

Set Milestones and Goals to Encourage Growth

A popular way to get employees to develop the right behaviors is through setting goals and milestones. You should always take time to meet with your new employee to agree on goals for their development. Many managers use this as an opportunity to correct poor behaviors, like being unpunctual or to further develop core strengths, such as attention to detail. 

 

By using the above behaviors, any manager can help improve the effectiveness of their new hires. However, should you find that these techniques are not working you may want to contact a staffing agency to help you find a more efficient employee.

If you and your company are in need of premier staffing solutions, contact us at J & J Staffing Resources today.

Did I Hire the Right Person for the Job?

It happens more often than you think. After going through dozens of resumes and conducting numerous interviews with job candidates, you end up making a hire that seems like the right choice. However, after only a few weeks you begin to realize that something is amiss. The person you hire for the position is not shaping up to be what he or she claimed they would be. Suddenly, you are having second thoughts about the hire altogether.

Sadly, this sort of scenario happens more often than many managers would like to admit. While professional staffing agencies go out of their way to extensively screen job candidates, companies that choose to hire without outside help may end up hiring people who are simply not qualified enough or have the right personality to work for them. 

The next time you’re trying to decide whether a new hire is or is not a good fit for your business, try asking yourself the following questions:

Does the Employee Take Initiative?

These days, everyone is trying to land a great job. As a result, most new employees tend to jump at the chance to show their enthusiasm and take on new responsibilities. If you find your recent hire tends to shirk away from responsibility or makes a lot of excuses in general, this may be a sign that he or she is content to do the bare minimum.

Does the Employee Keep Steady Under Pressure?

Good stress management is an important ability for an employee to have, and many people do lack the capability to properly handle hectic business situations. While it’s fine for someone to get a bit nervous about deadlines from time to time, you want to make sure that’s as far as the stress goes. If your employee has a habit of becoming so stressed that he or she cannot do the job effectively, then they may not be a good match for your business.

Does the Employee Perform Well in a Team Setting?

The ability to work well with others in a team environment is a common trait that many employers look for in job candidates - and for good reason. Rarely is there an important position in a company that does not require constant cooperation with other employees or departments. One of the key hallmarks of a bad hire is that he or she is unable to successfully work with others. Should you find that collaborative efforts with your new employee constantly result in project setbacks and other issues, then it might be time to let that employee go.

Should you decide that need to replace a bad hire, J & J Staffing is always able to help you. We assist businesses in finding qualified job candidates through our comprehensive staffing services. Contact us today if you are looking for excellent employees who would fit well with your company.

Great Employees Result from Great Management

Every manager has experienced firsthand the woes that come from dealing with bad employees. Maybe they’re unmotivated in their efforts, disruptive to your team, or highly combative when you speak to them. Sure, you’ve tried time and time again to correct their behaviors but ultimately have to say “goodbye” and let them go. No matter how many times this happens it always stings. 

So what’s a manager to do? You don’t want to have to micromanage your team members and you certainly don’t want to be “the bad guy” who has to constantly tell them they need to improve their attitude or work efforts. While assembling an exemplary staff of dedicated workers isn’t the simplest job in the world, it is one that is far easier to accomplish than most managers realize. The following are just a few practices managers can use to help them create and maintain the workplace dream team they’ve always wanted.

#1: Hire Only the Best (You Deserve It!)

Many companies tend to look at their first pool of potential hires as though they are the only people they might employ. Although most businesses post job openings with intentions of filling a position quickly, rarely does a hasty hire lead to a model employee. Instead of rushing through your hiring process and selecting the best candidate out of a handful of mediocre ones, take the time to conduct the sort of interviews and tests performed by staffing agencies.

Involve candidates in as many interviews as you deem necessary, and then have them evaluated by your colleagues or team leaders. If you feel that a candidate isn’t the best possible hire you could make, then say “thanks but no thanks” and move on to other possibilities. There are plenty of candidates to go around! Never be afraid to let a position remain open for application if you are unsatisfied with all the applicants. Your company deserves quality employees, not convenient ones.

  

#2: Regular Feedback + Support = Consistent Motivation

 

Do you remember when you did an amazing job in school as a kid and your mom put your report card on the refrigerator for everyone to see? Weren’t you swelling with pride? Didn’t you want to work hard to earn that attention again? Take a moment to think about that: The acknowledgement of a job well-done makes a person want to continue to do high quality work.

While a note on your break room fridge isn’t going to get someone to put in extra hours, occasional feedback and response to hard work will always encourage employees to apply themselves further. Even if what you have to say isn’t exactly “congratulations” or a pat on the back, you should always let your employees know how well they are doing. Even criticism (when given correctly and politely) is better to give than a cold shoulder.

#3: ALWAYS Be Available!

This brings us to you as a manager. You should always be visible to your team members and interacting with them regularly. Too many managers make the common mistake of sitting in their offices for eight hours a day with their doors closed. This conveys many things and they’re all negative: you’re too busy to be bothered; you’re different from everyone else and deserve preferential treatment; you’re not a part of the team unless a problem arises. Obviously, all these beliefs are going to be counterproductive to having an efficient and well-run team.

Instead of locking yourself away from your team and making employees feel shut off from you, try these approaches:

• Leave your door open so you’re seen as being available.
• Talk to your team members in person when problems come up. This makes you approachable when they have issues on their end.  
• Learn about each of your employees. If you can strike up a short conversation over topics such as their fantasy football league they’ll feel more able to talk to you. 
• Hold important meetings in rooms other than your own office. This keeps you active and visible throughout the building.

Finally, you should take the time to have regular one-on-ones with your team members. Aside from giving you an opportunity to check up on their assignments and important projects, these brief meetings allow you to give the feedback they need to do a better job and feel motivated.

Even though your team may be composed of many, many people, you must always realize that you are essential to keeping the group moving efficiently and enthusiastically.  A great team is the result of a group effort, but you are its foundation. Be picky with hires, be open with your feedback, and be an active part of your team. With these behaviors in place, you’ll find your dream team is being formed, one step week at a time.