Employers don’t just want a prospective employee to have all the necessary experience and knowledge necessary to do the job. They also want people with certain personal qualities. These qualities employers look for are usually not described on the job listing.

Typically, there are 14 personal qualities employers look for in new hires.

1. You Know What You Want in Your Career

One of the qualities employers look for is a sense of self-confidence. Employers are looking for people who not only know what they want in life, but they’re willing to work to attain it. Good managers want people with goals, not people who are just there to get a weekly paycheque.

2. You Understand Your Own Path

You have interests and passions of your own, and you’ve followed them to get to where you are right now. If you can clearly articulate how you’ve followed that interest, and where that path might take you in the future, a good manager will want to know more.

3. You know Your Strengths

Managers want people who know their strengths, so capitalize on that. Instead of just saying you are good at PowerPoint, say “I love PowerPoint and I can teach other people how to use it as well, even the more specialized bits like macros and creating nested reports.” It’s important to understand what your strong points are, especially when you are seeking for a new job. In some interviews, employers may ask potential job candidates to take assessment tests just to understand where their strengths lie.

4. You Can Point to Successes Both At Work and Elsewhere

When asked about a time you felt great about your accomplishments, what can you say? You need to be able to talk about your successes, no matter how big or small. Tell how you saved the day, or even if you did something little to help a friend.

5. You Think Independently

Independent thinking is one of the qualities employers look for typically. Sure, there are managers who don’t want their employees to think on their own, but do you really want to work for someone like that? Strong managers want to take on people who can contribute, not just participate.

6. You Have Ambition

When you have ambition, you have the drive to get smarter and stronger as you go. This could mean starting your own business, earning that promotion, or leaving a familiar job to try something new. People with ambition demonstrate positive qualities that employers look for.

7. You Like to Problem-Solve

Did you know that before a kid even goes to Kindergarten, he’s already carried out 50,000 experiments using random household and outdoor items like mud, water, or cat food.
Tell the manager about a problem you’ve solved in the past, like improving on something that didn’t make sense to you at work or home.

8. You Are Proactive

If you’re proactive, you don’t wait until you’re told what to do. Instead, you are on your toes and ready to deal with whatever comes your way. One way to show this trait off is to ask about the work you’ll do in the job. Ask some questions that show the manager just how much thought you’ve given.

9. You Are Goal-Oriented

If you’re the type of person who likes to set goals and then work to meet them, sell that trait during your interview. Talk about how you’ve always made goals for yourself and hit them. Tell the manager how and why goals are so important to you.

10. You Like to Learn New Things

When you get to an interview, make sure to talk up your interest in learning something new. Good managers like people who like to learn. If you do online courses or read up on things that interest you, make sure you talk about it during your interview.

11. You Work Well With a Team

Almost all managers will tell you how important it is to be able to work well in a team. Before your interview, think about a great story you can tell how you and your team had to work through a problem or task and how the team pulled together to be successful.

12. You Are Responsible

Employers want to be able to hire people who take responsibility for themselves and their situation. Talk about your home and work responsibilities that you have taken on for yourself. This is especially important if you’ve held jobs or volunteer positions that put you in charge of infants, children, or elderly, or if you’ve done something with a lot of risk where you were in charge, like a river-rafting guide while you were in college.

13. You Are Honest

Honesty is one of the qualities employers look for. Managers and employers want timely and accurate information about their workers and their business. If you make a mistake, admit it, do your best to fix it, and try not to do it again.

14. You Have a Good Worth Ethic

If you’re always at work on time, you do the job you’re supposed to do, meet your deadlines and targets and always work to the best of your ability, sell yourself. Talk about your awards from school for perfect attendance. Discuss how you follow through with assignments and tasks. Talk about a time when your perseverance paid off.