Many of the knowledge and skills you need to perform well in your job are not acquired at school or university.
On the one hand, each organization has its processes and procedures, so the knowledge and skills you have acquired from the educational system will have to be adapted to its specifics. On the other hand, the pace of business change is so rapid that much of what you’ve learned will likely be obsolete less than a decade after you last set foot in an educational institution.
When you’re hiring an employee who doesn’t have a lot of experience in your industry, knowing what they studied and how well they did at university won’t tell you much about whether they’ll be good at the job you’re hiring them for. Instead, there are several other things to focus on when looking for new hires with real development potential.
Taking responsibility for mistakes made
One of the reasons why good grades at school and university are not necessarily an indicator of success at work is that getting good grades in exams is primarily about minimizing the number of mistakes you make while answering questions, that the questioner knows the answer to. Success at work is usually the ability to answer questions that no one knows the answers to yet, and therefore you are likely to make a lot of mistakes. A key skill that separates those who succeed in a work environment from those who don’t is the ability to take responsibility for those mistakes and get back up after each fall.
When you need a new employee, you should look for people who admit their mistakes. As soon as they realize they have done something wrong, they should come to you to let you know. And when a problem is pointed out to them, they must seek to understand their role in its existence.
The only way a person can come out more knowledgeable and prepared from a situation where they have failed in one way or another is if they can analyze where they went wrong, and who are hiding their mistakes, they can create a good image for themselves in the short term, but it is unlikely that they will continue to develop in such a way that they will be successful in the long term.
Modesty
Being modest is not the same as lacking self-confidence. This means that one realizes that one’s success is a combination of personal effort, luck, and teamwork. Yes, people need to work hard if they want to be successful, but they also need to be willing to rely on others for key parts of their shared projects. This means it’s important to give credit to your colleagues when things are going well.
If the new hire recognizes that many factors contribute to success, they have the potential to achieve great things in the long run. He will interact effectively with team members, and they will appreciate his efforts.
Willingness to listen
A person can also draw a lot of wisdom from the environment around him. You never know who you will meet and what they will teach you. This means that successful people are willing to listen and learn from anyone.
There are several types of people who usually avoid listening to others. Some have low self-esteem, which makes them ignore successful people because they remind them of the things they haven’t achieved yet. However, if you ignore successful people, you are missing out on an important source of information.
Narcissists are also not particularly good listeners because they see themselves as more knowledgeable and capable and see no need to pay attention to other people’s opinions. For them, learning from others is a sign that they aren’t that special.
