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Hiring managers are increasingly prioritizing ethics-related character traits, such as integrity and accountability, when evaluating job candidates.
FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS, the Career Advisory Board of DeVry University has studied the gaps between traits and skills that employers are looking for in job candidates and the actual characteristics possessed by the applicants they meet. The 2015 Job Preparedness Indicator (JPI) surveyed 503 full-time hiring managers who screen and hire applicants with at least a college education.
The report concludes that "hiring managers are able to find valuable skills and traits more easily than in prior years."
INTEGRITY IS MOST IMPORTANT
This year's JPI report shows that character traits rank higher than job skills. Previous years' surveys indicated that it was essential for all candidates to have integrity, but in 2015, integrity was the most important trait for applicants at all experience levels. Respondents suggested they were most concerned with honesty, having received falsified résumés or having been lied to about a candidate's background in the past. A strong work ethic, self-motivation, and accountability follow integrity in importance for entry or mid-level positions.
For senior-level positions, the characteristic of accountability ranked high, while abilities to make decisions and solve problems were next in importance. Hiring managers didn't assign as much importance to higher-order traits of strategic perspective, business acumen, and global competence as prior-year respondents did.
DePaul University Career Center's Ten Tips for Job Search Success lists strong ethics as the number one most desirable characteristic, advising candidates to "be honest with employers. This includes your online profile, résumé, and cover letter. Honesty is integral during the interviewing and...