Some Traits You Just Can’t Teach

Recently, I have been training to transition to a different job in the company. I was able to get a certification so that I can move on to my next steps. After I got the certificate, I was asked to conduct initial interviews for a new candidate for my position. This made me slightly nervous because I have never conducted interviews before, but I was excited to learn something new. You never know when it could come in handy in the future.

While I was interviewing one of the candidates, she mentioned something interesting about the interviewing process that stuck with me. She mentioned that when she helped with the interview process for new employees at her past company, she found that sometimes the person with more experience may not always be the best choice. She explained that sometimes a candidate with a more solid work ethic with less experience could be a better choice than a candidate with no work ethic and more experience.

This idea reminded me a lot about when I was a volleyball player and coach. Sometimes, when you needed to decide which player was going to be a starter and there were two people with a similar skill set, most of the time it came down to the player’s attitude and effort. As a volleyball player, I would much rather play with someone that has a positive attitude than someone that may be athletically better with a bad attitude. Volleyball is a game of mistakes, so all it takes one player to take down the whole team with a bad attitude. It is much better to have someone in that position who is going to help uplift the team instead.

This idea made me think to myself, why is that? Why else wouldn’t you want a person with more experience or better skill set over a person with less? Personally, I think it is because things like work ethic and attitude aren’t something you can teach, whereas skill set and experience can be improved with time.

Now, don’t get me wrong, most of the time the more experienced candidates will be the better choice, but think about this: how good is their experience if they don’t use it to help the company when they have a bad work ethic? Overall, what I am trying to say is that it can always be something to keep in mind when hiring. Maybe that person with less experience can be given a chance and will help the company thrive if their mind is in the right place, and with some time, can become just the candidate you are looking for!