The Right Skills for Getting Hired – Here’s what it’s going to take.

If you’re looking for a new job in the next year or two, you should be very willing to learn.

In a survey over a base of 2,000 senior executives and managers across the U.S. conducted by my company, NFI Research, the top characteristic an overwhelming majority (87 percent) said that they would look for in employees they would want to hire within the next two years was that they be willing to learn.

BY CHUCK MARTIN

http://www.darwinmag.com/read/030104/skills.html

Only about half of respondents said that the majority of executives, managers and employees in their organizations today are willing to learn, though three-fourths said their current staffs are knowledgeable about the business.

Other top characteristics sought in future employees are, in order:

* knowledge about the business
* trustworthiness
* technologically adept
* being balanced
* willing to change
* loyal

While 42 percent of respondents said their current employee base was balanced, 76 percent said that being balanced is what they would look for in future hires.

"As CEO and president of my own company, I share the philosophy of the founder of Mary Kay cosmetics: priorities of God first, family second and company third," said one survey respondent. "It has worked for my company and I support this view with my employees and subcontractors."

Said another: "Current executives have blinders on to the real world. Balance and a willingness to learn and change will be critical success factors in the future."

When it comes to loyalty, only 43 percent say their current workforce is loyal, while 72 percent would seek loyalty in future hires. "Loyalty and knowledge will continue to be the single most important factors in acquiring new employees at the management level," said one respondent. "Human equity is key. We will not only invest in capital improvements, such as technology and brick-and-mortar, but in people, too."

When it comes to future hiring, loyalty is a more significant factor to senior executives than it is to managers. There obviously are differing viewpoints about characteristics depending on the level of a person in an organization. "It’s difficult to group executives with the employee force," said one respondent. "Employees have loyalty, willingness to share and are knowledgeable. The executives are aggressive."

Interestingly, in both current and future workforces, the larger the company the more aggressive the management and employee base.

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As for being trustworthy, less than half of respondents said that characteristic was found in current managers and employees, but 87 percent would be looking for it in future employees. "We need to get back to demanding that we hire ethical, trustworthy, honest, conservative employees. That goes back to our core values," said one respondent. "We must focus-focus-focus on our core values to be successful in our business and be loyal to our employees, customers and shareholders. Overall, most of corporate America has lost this balance."

When it comes to having executives, managers and employees who are "fun," only 23 percent of respondents said their organization has them, while 38 percent look for that characteristic in future hiring.

While more than half of respondents said their organization is staffed with people who are family-oriented, only 40 percent would seek that characteristic in future hiring.

So if you’re planning a career move, it might be time to take steps to be more open in your ability to learn new ways, which is perceived to bring great benefit to the hiring organization. "All employees should be flexible and willing to learn," said one respondent. "All good managers should look for employees willing to learn and grow, otherwise the organization becomes stale."

Chuck Martin is syndicated columnist as well as chairman and CEO of NFI Research, a global research firm based in New Hampshire. He lectures around the world, and is a best-selling author of several business books, including his latest Managing for the Short Term (Doubleday, 2002). He can be reached at [email protected].