As you go through the process of hiring your next electrician, you’re bound to focus on a candidate’s skills, experience, and education. And while every one of those is important, it also pays to look beyond those technical aspects if you want to find an employee that will add the most value to your organization. You need to examine their so-called soft skills.

Of course, you won’t find these on a resume or cover letter, but you might be able to find them during an interview, perhaps from their social media activities, or by following up on references. While it’s possible to find a capable worker without the following soft skills, those skills will do as much (or more!) to determine a successful hire than choosing by technical talents alone.

Here are just three of the soft skills that your next electrician should bring to your company:

Good Listening Skills

An attentive ear is a must for an electrician. They need to be able to diagnose and fix a wide variety of electrical issues, but first, they need to be listening carefully as a residential or commercial client describes a problem.

Active listeners, such as excellent electricians, pay close attention intending to understand what could be a complex problem fully. This type of listening differs from regular listening which often means the listener is half paying attention while the other half is preparing a response.

Hiring managers can often pick up on the absence of good listening skills during the job interview.

A Cooperative Nature

Electricians will be working with a wide range of people. Clients can be demanding, and construction can be a high-stress business in which contractors, inspectors, and other workers will require an electrician to be cooperative. A successful electrician will be able to evaluate the various personalities on any worksite and find ways to be as cooperative as possible.

Keep in mind that everyone from supervisors to customers will be judging your next electrician just as much by his or her level of cooperation as by the quality of their work.

Patience

One soft skill not to be overlooked is patience. Your electricians will come across many complicated issues that demand more than a quick fix. Patience is exercising self-control and not rushing through these complex problems but instead taking the time to be thorough and exacting. Patient individuals tend to “rub off” on their co-workers, which can result in a less stressful work environment for everyone.

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