Who is the perfect employee anyway?

perfect employeeWhen it comes to hiring, every recruiter or hiring manager wants to find the perfect employee for their vacancy. After all, we don´t want to waste any time and resources looking for replacements if the hire turns out to be less successful. And, we all want to hire someone who will make an impact and truly brings value to the business. But who is this perfect employee? And, do they even exist?

There are plenty of attempts to describe the perfect employee and here are some traits that the perfect employee should have according to business leaders: 

The perfect employee fits well into the company´s culture

Cultural fit is critical to both employee engagement and to performance. Someone that does not fit well into your company´s culture, will not only have a hard time themselves but will also impact business results. Therefore, a good cultural fit is of significant importance for the perfect employee.

The perfect employee is resourceful

Being scrappy or resourceful is a key characteristic of great employees. Resourceful employees are not afraid to dream big, try new things, see some of these things fail and then regroup for another round of new ideas.

The perfect employee is dedicated

Great employees are committed to making the business succeed and are willing to go the extra mile for that goal. Great employees will show enthusiasm, dedication and the desire to make a difference.

The perfect employee is integer

No matter how strong of a candidate, if someone lacks integrity, all the rest doesn´t really matter. Being integer is not just about being honest, it is about doing what is best for the business even if others might not always like you for it.

The perfect employee is consistent

Consistency is key. The perfect employee delivers, is accountable and is consistent in this accountability. If someone is very strong in some of their output but you can´t count on them being consistent in delivering what they should deliver, it might not be such an ideal candidate.

The perfect employee is optimistic

A good attitude is everything! Nobody wants to work in a negative vibe or amongst people who are always complaining and being pessimistic. An optimistic employee will look for solutions before presenting problems to the rest of the team and they see challenges as opportunities to make a change.

The perfect employee is hungry

Hungry to deliver, hungry to learn and hungry to keep developing themselves. Great employees are always looking to improve both on a professional and a personal level. They don´t worry if they have all the knowledge they need for a task, they will just take the task and run with it while figuring things out along the way.

The perfect employee is creative

The perfect employee is also creative and looks for unconventional solutions to problems they might find. They come up with new ideas and innovative ways of working.

However, despite all these best efforts to describe the perfect employee, we believe that probably the perfect employee doesn´t exist. The candidate with the great cultural fit and attitude might not have all the right skills and experience. The candidate with the impressing resume might not be the best choice when it comes to your culture and ways of working. So, a candidate that ticks all boxes probably is hard to come by, but it is your goal as a recruiter or hiring manager to find someone as close to perfect as possible for your situation.

Do you think the perfect employee exists? And if so, what does the perfect employee look like? We would love to read your thoughts in the comments section!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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