Hey Jim!
I was asked earlier this week what I look for when hiring new team members.
“Surely you need candidates that have taken a specific college degree path…” they said as they prompted further…
I paused for a moment and replied: “Attitude, and aptitude.”
As I stared into their perplexed face I went on to elaborate… In the current business landscape, I really don’t care if you have a piece of paper from a major university (or a community college for that matter) that says you have a specific degree…
Learning’s destination is death. You never stop learning, therefore, what you learned in college (especially when it comes to technology) is no longer relevant in many cases before the class even starts (text books don’t tend to change as often as they should…) There are always new things to learn. That being said, all that matters still remains:
Attitude and Aptitude.
Attitude is Everything.
As I mentioned in a past article – your attitude dictates your environment. If you come to work everyday approaching complex problems from a level of optimism and clarity – you will most certainly be an inspiring source within our small team that others want to come to work with each day – and that’s half the battle!
Aptitude is Everything.
Aptitude is defined as the innate or acquired capacity for something, a talent. For example, I don’t care if you know how to code a website the way we as a company code websites when you first start working with us, but if you have the ability to be open to learning new ways of doing things, understand the processes, retain them and take those processes to new heights – you will surely go far in whatever you do.
The Point?
Today’s business is different than it used to be. So many people think that you are defined by your degree and that solidifies your future. Not anymore. You are defined by your character…
Your attitude and aptitude.
Thank you for reading this and enjoy your weekend!