EQ and "soft skills" are essential qualifications

Knowing who to hire is difficult enough but knowing what to look for in prospective employees doesn't have to be. Here are four key attributes to look for when hiring new employees:

1.  Ambition

You want to find employees that are not only going to show up to work on time, but that are also going to go out of their way to get things accomplished. Ambitious employees can also encourage their coworkers to become more ambitious, which can tremendously improve company morale and productivity over time. When an employee takes charge and finds things that need to be done without waiting for you to instruct them, they not only save you time, but they can also take extra work off of your plate and help their coworkers out if they are struggling.

2.  Honesty

Honest employees are a necessity. If an employee is honest and straightforward, even about past mistakes, it can make them easier to work with and it can save you the trouble of having to double check everything they do. When you know an employee is honest, you know that you can trust them to do what they are supposed to be doing, and trust that they are doing it right, which saves you from having to check up on them, which means that you are left with more time to do your own work. Also, with honest employees, comes loyalty, so you don't have to worry about them leaving you on short notice for another job, as they are more likely to be straightforward and tell you beforehand when another opportunity comes along.

3.  Passion

Anyone can show up to a job and do the work, but it is important to find employees that are truly passionate about the work that your company is doing. Not only are people who are passionate about the work that they do more likely to stay with the company in the long run, but they will be more driven and thus more likely to help drive the company towards accomplishing their common goals. Also, people who are truly passionate about their job are less likely to create unnecessary work drama or simply hang out without doing their work.

4.  Detail-Oriented

Finding employees that see a task as a combination of all of its little parts, rather than one big picture can be valuable for any company. Seeing the parts that make up a task, ensures that the employee is more able to focus on every part, making them less likely to miss small details in a big task. Over time, production can not only increase, but better end products can be produced, which can mean an increase in clients or sales.

So don't get hung up on all the keywords on the resume. Make sure that the whole person is a good fit for the team!