Blog
Top 10 Things Employers Look for in Employees
6th October 2016
Whether you are just starting out or already established in your career, there are important characteristics that employers look for in their employees and will continue to look for throughout your employment especially if you wish to impress, or push for promotion.
1) Use initiative
1) Use initiative
This is of course a matter of judgement but ask yourself is it fine to just do what needs to be done? Most businesses are looking to expand or naturally improve their services and using your initiative may well help them with this.
2) Commit to the job and company
2) Commit to the job and company
If you are committed to the role then you will show this in your actions, whether you are aware of that or not. Employees are keen to have people who are committed to the company. The question is though how can you show this? Going the extra mile and delivering things outside your usual job role can be ways of demonstrating this.
3) Ability to learn other tasks and take on new responsibilities
3) Ability to learn other tasks and take on new responsibilities
Most businesses these days provide opportunities for training and are keen to spot potential in their employees. This may well involve taking on new responsibilities and volunteering to learn new tasks. This is especially the case in an age where new technologies are being developed all the time.
4) Team player
4) Team player
Most companies are made up of more than one person and how you get on with the other employees can really impress your employer. If you're a team player there is little doubt that on many tasks you will be given the opportunity to be part of what is going on in your company and therefore improve job security.
5) Enthusiastic
5) Enthusiastic
Enthusiasm is an important part of many aspects of employment. Not only does it show your employer that you enjoy what you do but it will also help you on a daily basis engage in a more positive way and hopefully help you enjoy what to do even more.
6) Innovative
6) Innovative
Employers look for ideas to help grow their company as well as make operations run more smoothly. This involves innovation and although at times it may seem like companies resist innovation actually they are looking for ways of cutting costs and improving their services and processes. Sometimes the simplest of ideas has the biggest impact on the running of a business. Innovation doesn’t always mean designing the next smart phone, it can be thinking of a small idea to improve a process that in turn will save the company valuable time and money.
7) Honest and trustworthy
7) Honest and trustworthy
This is obviously a very important factor for employers, they need to feel they can trust employees in their business for many reasons.
8) Adaptable to change
This perhaps is more relevant in this day and age than it ever was before because technology is moving at a pace and people need to be able to adapt to these changes. Change can also be regarding job roles as companies need to adapt to stay competitive in today’s market.
9) Reliable
Being reliable can involve many things. One of the most common things that employers look for in a reliable person is the ability to turn up on time. If you are a reliable employee then it often reflects the fact that they can rely on you to be around. This will inspire confidence and maybe present opportunity.
10) Ability to follow key business processes
When employed your employer will hope and trust that you are able to carry out the aspects of your job with competence especially the key duties of your role. Most companies follow some form of process to ensure there is a key way of working all employees can follow. Employers will want to know you have the aptitude to follow these business critical processes.
