While the legal market has a required threshold of learned skills and passed exams, those scores and accolades should not be the only consideration when hiring. Beyond having the required experience for a position, attention must be given to a candidate’s personality and how it aligns with your company’s vision and culture. The importance of this cannot be understated, because the people in an organization are what make or break the company. Someone’s attitude can have a profound impact on individual performance and success, as well as organizational growth and retention.
The following qualities may help identify a candidate who has the potential to become highly successful and bring value to a firm/company:
Perseverance: Individuals driven to succeed will typically outperform others, resulting in higher productivity and greater ease and resilience when faced with challenges.
Communication Skills: Superior communicators are great listeners and can effectively use different communication tools, depending upon their audience, to achieve their desired outcomes.
Teamwork: People capable of building rapport with their colleagues and participating well within groups, are often better able to bring people together toward common objectives.
Desire to Learn: Individuals motivated to improve their knowledge, seek new skills and opportunities, positioning them for greater success.
Thinking Big: People who look at the whole picture often anticipate issues, ask more questions, and generate strategic outcomes.
These qualities can be invaluable, regardless of the stage in someone's career, so be sure to evaluate more than a resume, because personality and fit are essential.