Like most things in the business world, finding the perfect employee can be a grueling process. Said perfect employee has to be hard-working and reliable — and that is just the beginning.
Rather than list off a bunch of common traits, such as leader, honest, hard-working and responsible — although all of those qualities are very important when it comes to the makeup of the perfect employee — let’s gather up some out-of-the-box traits.
Available
Having an all-star employee who will bust his/her tail off for an entire 9-to-5 shift is a valuable weapon for any employer. However, what happens if work needs to be done after hours? What happens if it is a Saturday night and a company is in crunch time mode?
Some employees might not want to work. Why should they, some people might be asking? 9-to-5 is engraved in the brain and 40 hours a week is many people’s max. When it comes to the perfect employee, being available at all hours is priceless. Of course, things like salary and time and a half can come into play for this out-of-the-box trait.
Creative
When thinking of a creative person, many might think of writers, painters, musicians — artists in general. However, a creative person can be a non-writer or non-painter. A creative person is someone who always has good ideas in meetings, and a person who typically comes up with solutions for day-to-day conflicts.
A Journalistic Mindset
No, not everyone needs to think like a journalist to be successful. However, most journalists have valuable qualities. Any employee, whether they have a journalistic background or not, should follow the lead.
Journalists are moral, all about the truth (and nothing but), strive to get it right, fair, loyal and the list of qualities goes on and on. A true journalist-like mindset, in its simplest form, is invaluable.
Relatable/Well-Liked
Why is being relatable such an important trait for the perfect employee? A relatable person is, of course, someone people can relate to. Now let’s throw being well-liked into the mix.
If someone is well-liked, said someone is liked by everyone (well, mostly everyone). Everyone has worked with another individual who they did not like. It makes the office setting uncomfortable.
Now let’s throw everything together: If an employee is intelligent and gets all of his/her work done, but is not relatable and well-liked, then that employee certainly isn’t perfect. A relatable and well-liked person is someone who is respected by the rest of the office, and the importance of this can’t — but usually does — go unnoticed.
Someone Who Buys Into All Of The Company’s Beliefs
This is a big one, but it isn’t always brought up. A smart and confident individual is a major plus for any business, but what happens if that same person doesn’t buy into a company’s beliefs? Conflict.
To be really successful, no matter what the profession might be, people have to be passionate. Passion likely doesn’t exist in this scenario: A smart and confident individual doesn’t buy into a company’s beliefs.
