Do You Hire For Attitude Or Skill?

Mike Finley

Which do you give more weight to in a potential employee?

Skills they bring ?

or

Attitude they bring ?

Teetorbilt

Mostly skill but I once hired a guy just because he was special. He was qualified for the position but his personality just lit the place up. Divorce, kids and other factors caused him to leave the area. If any of you have worked with Scott, you know who I'm talking about.

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PrecisionFloors

Depends on what I am hiring them for I suppose, but attitude is more important 90% of the time. I am still at a stage where I am on every one of my jobs and have direct control in the finished product so skill is not as important to me. Plus I want them to do it MY way anyway....most who too skilled to be helpers have the idea that they know it all already.

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Mike Finley

Walls & Ceiling magazine has a good article about this

http://www.wconline.com/CDA/Articles...00000000063901

Reading it makes me know I'm guilty of hiring based more on skill. Guilty because in my case it fits. There are certain reasons to hire more on skill, but they don't fit my company. That article is a good one for me and a good wake up call.

woodmagman

Attitude can not install tile, tape drywall or paint a room. Skill is required if you need the job done. And bad attitude with skill is a pink slip waiting to happen. If you have time to train, then attitude is a starting point. Trutly a grey area, with lots of vairables.

woodmagman

Ever so true............

hrscammisa

No body likes a loud mouth a-- That cant get along with others.If they are willing I can train almost any one. except the ones that like to tell me how to do it. And they have been in the traid 6 months.what the ----

travish

around here I hire for having a pulse

Ed the Roofer

I can teach a good person with the right attitude to be a good roofer.

BUT


I can't teach a good roofer to be a good person and have a good attitude.



Does that make sense?

Ed

George Z

Attitude first and skill is a bonus if there.

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Scott Young

aw shucks teetor, i ain't that bad to work with. just ask my last 100 employers. they will all give glowing references.

IBUILD

I expect both when hiring carpenters, but settle for attitude with a laborer, him I can train.

Trying to train a carpenter on a small or big project is non-exsistant, you are always busy and dont have time to teach, if you do take the time, your over budjet on hours and profit is history. Other carpenters, especially the foreman on your crew will never take the time, because they are worried they are going to be replaced.

I dont go by referances, because some bosses are jerks to work for and have bad working conditions, and they never give you a straight answer when you ask anyway!! I give a month trial, if they dont meet my requirements they are gone. If they make the 30 days they get a raise if deserved and can collect shared crew bonuses on projects completed on time.

dougchips

Attitude.......... I can teach someone skills if they have the correct attitude. One of the biggest things that I look for is if they want to learn. Do they attend training, do they read JLC or any similar publications? With product features and installation methods changing everyday don't tell me that you know it all and will not waste your time on training. So far this year most of my subs attended about 28 hours each of training on their own time. I want people that are willing to be the best in their trade.

Skill is still important, I've had people with great attitudes that just can't do the job to my standards.

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realpurty2

Call me picky, but why must you choose one or the other?

Unless your hiring out of urgent need, take time to scout and recruit applicants that don't force you to choose skill over attitude or any other qualifications. We've all been in a crunch where we've had to hire out of need, but that should be the exception, not the norm.

If your adding employees to further expansion, plan in advance so that you have enough time to solicit and screen potentials to hand pick the cream of the crop. Also keep applications on file of the front runners for those unexpected times.

If your forced to hire quickly, I'd choose the one that had the most skills. Lack of skill is dead weight you have to carry and an expense for nothing. It doesn't matter how pleasant a person is if your paying out wages and labor burden and the work still isn't getting done or even worse, getting done incorrectly which waste materials.

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roofwiz74

most people I have worked for Liked my attitude.I was at the job,didn't play favorites,and they came in with a great profit.And of course my desire to achieve perfection on every job on every job.I liked training guys who had experience,liked showing them everything they did wrong.lol.yeah I've got a real bad attitude.guess that's why I'll always work alone.in peace and quite.nobody to pick up,buy lunch for,lend them money,count on them to not be there,bail out of jail.
no thanks.I like money men.do the job and move on to the next.

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nadonailer

Exactly!!!

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Teetorbilt

This is on my wall over the monitor in my office. I read it often.



Charles Swindoll

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

woodmagman

Good Reading.......for all, even if you have all the answers...

krobinson

I'm with travish, we kinda joke around our shop that if they can "fog a mirror" then hire 'em. Sad but true.

Boogga

No skill, no attitude. No attitude, no skill.

Get it?

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