Forget Skill Sets: Why the unteachable traits (Character) is more important.

The skills gap has been making headlines for years. For companies in manufacturing, construction, and other America is facing an unprecedented skilled labor shortage. According to the Department of Labor, the US economy had 7.6 million unfilled jobs, but only 6.5 million people were looking for work as of January 2019 and it is more apparent than ever that our country is suffering because of it.

Even as demand for new construction, equipment, and software workers increases, the number of people actually ready to do those jobs is falling. Which is why it might be time to put a radical hiring policy into practice.

Instead of looking for someone with the right skills, look for someone with the right character & a similar skill set. It is easier to bring someone forward on the teachable's then it is on character traits like Integrity, Patience, Drive, Vulnerability & Attitude.

How to assess character

The trick, of course, is recognizing the fundamental character of a person behind their attitude. That’s no easy task. So it makes sense that businesses have tried to reduce it to something a little easier. Hence the checklists of skills that characterize most job postings.

When you’re looking for an ideal employee, the character traits you need might differ from job to job, but a few remain constant.

The most important of these is curiosity or willingness to learn. Someone who doesn’t want to learn, who isn’t curious about your industry and the people you support and the work you do, isn’t going to be trainable.

Employees without curiosity stick rigidly to their job description and get annoyed when someone asks them to do something outside that narrow task list. Employees with curiosity are eager to learn new things. They’ll step out of their comfort zone and try something new or challenging.

A curious person will: ask questions during the interview, have outside interests, listen attentively to what you say, they might even take notes.

Go against conventional wisdom and look for resumes that list work outside of your industry. People who worked or studied in other industries are often curious people looking for a new challenge.

Driven or self-motivated Self-motivated individuals don’t need to be pushed to get work done. They possess the stamina to perform outstanding work and usually, work hard consistently. You don’t have to worry about slack or lost hours when there’s a self-motivated employee working for you. They also fix a pace and model that others can and want to follow. The return on investment for such individuals is very high because with respect to cost, they don’t need additional rewards.

Personal responsibility is a trait that rarely makes it onto hiring lists, but it’s a vital one. People who take personal responsibility own their goals. They don’t blame other people for their failings and they are willing to work for success.

Self-awareness. You need to be clear on what your strengths are and what complementary strengths you need from others. This includes understanding others and learning how best to utilize their strengths. Many unsophisticated leaders think everyone should be like them; that too can cause their downfall. They surround themselves with people like them. "Group think" can blindside them and cause failure.

Patient. Patient people are able to tolerate setbacks, delays or unexpected challenges without becoming anxious or angry. Having patience is essential for jobs where it can take a long time to see the results of your efforts, such as when leading a marketing team or campaign.

Now for the easy part - training

One of the benefits of hiring for character over skills is that you get to develop your employees to do things in a manner that works for your company and your customers. They come to you with fewer preconceived notions and ingrained habits.

This will help lead to a ownership mentality, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10"