When you’re looking for the ideal employee, it’s likely you’ll have specific criteria you’d like them to meet. While intelligence and a basic skill set could be essential, it’s also important to know you’re hiring well-rounded people with suitable personalities.

For assistance with your recruitment process, you could turn to a human resource specialist. For example, companies like Penna offer a range of recruitment services that can make it easier to identify and attract the best candidates. Whether you go about hiring candidates yourself or with the help of a consultancy company, you will find it useful to know what you’re looking for. So that you recruit the best people, here are three attributes you should look for in a prospective employee.

1. Ambition

People who are determined to have a successful and fulfilling career can be a real asset to your company. Those who have ambition are usually more likely to go the extra mile, get more work done and do what’s best for your business. In contrast, a person who lacks the desire to thrive in their role is unlikely to work hard or have your company’s best interests at heart. During your recruitment process, look out for those who have a clear idea of where they’d like to be in five or 10 years time. This could give you a good indication of whether they’re focused and committed enough for the role.

2. Positivity

Generally speaking, people don’t like to be in the company of those who are negative and pessimistic. With this in mind, if you want to keep the morale of your workforce upbeat and happy, you may want to look for candidates that are wearing a smile and showcase a can-do, positive attitude. Putting together a team of optimistic individuals can help you to create a better work culture and it could even boost productivity.

3. Reliability

Hiring someone who is unreliable could be a recipe for disaster. This type of person may find it difficult adhere to instructions. In turn, this could potentially result in a mistake being made that harms your business and its reputation. Reliability is also important if you want your employees to meet deadlines, take their roles seriously and show up to work on time. This type of dependable and responsible person could prove to be an asset to your workforce.

Finding the most suitable employees to join your workforce can be a major challenge. However, if you know what attributes to look for, you shouldn’t go too far wrong.