Better Hiring Practices: Should You Hire Skills or Personalities?

Every time you have an open position in your company, the struggle begins. You want to hire someone who is a great fit with your existing staff, who will understand your company culture, and who will stay with the company and fulfill their role for a long time. When you’re hiring, there are plenty of factors that go into every interview. Deciding which factors are the most important can help you make better decisions every time you select a new employee.

Training Matters

When you have an open position, you want a candidate who has all the skills necessary to fill it. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to hire someone who already understands the exact techniques, software, or processes used by your company. In many cases, you expect to provide some degree of training before your new employee is ready to fully tackle the job that they’ve been hired to do. If a potential employee has the basic skills necessary to learn the more in-depth skills for the job, you can train them in the specific tools and processes they need to take the position.

Personality Can’t Be Taught

You can teach employees new skills. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work the same way with personality. A good personality fit can make all the difference in many office settings. When you have a team that meshes well together, you’ll have a happier, more productive office environment. In many cases, a great combination of personalities throughout your office will be the difference between employees who are eager to report to work and give their all and a negative office environment. When hiring new employees, therefore, it’s critical to choose personalities that will fit with your existing staff to ensure a better environment for all involved.

Remember, employees can be taught new skills, so don’t write them off if their resume doesn’t read exactly like the job description requirements. Their personality, however, is something you’ll have to get a sense for in interviews and other exchanges. If they don’t feel like a good fit, regardless of their skills, they might not be the candidate for you.

About Swoon

We are recruiters with an unorthodox method and a proven track record of temporary and direct hire placements. Through an approachable method to recruiting we get to know our clients and candidates then connect the best and the brightest with Fortune 1000 companies nationwide. Are you ready to be Swoon’d?