Skills vs Attitude: What is more important?
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11/05/2021
I know you have heard it before, “our attitude towards life determines life’s attitude towards us” and that can be true for not only our personal lives, but also our professional. If you think back to any job you have had, who have you been around when you were at your best? Was it the colleague or manager who looked at things on the bright side and encouraged you? Or was it the colleague who constantly complained, put you down and never had anything positive to say. The correct answer, it is never the latter.
By having a positive attitude at work, you not only are creating a positive environment around you, but it is proven to reduce stress, increase productivity levels, produce more energy, and motivate others. Now in saying this, having a positive attitude in the workplace will not necessarily make you better at your job but it will improve the way others view you as not only a coworker but as a person which in turn encourages others to cheer you on and fosters connections.
The main difference between attitude and skills, is that skills can be taught and developed, but as for personality, that is not always the case. Having people in your workplace who know what they are doing and how to accomplish the organisations goals is so important, but these people are those in which you surround yourself with for majority of your week and their attitude influences you. When you have a positive attitude, you will see things as opportunities instead of as obstacles.
For clients, it is only natural that when you think of your ideal candidate you want them to possess the right mix of talent and experience, wanting a candidate who appears to “have it all” and you may be faced with choosing between a candidate who has an amazing personality but has more learning to do and a candidate who has exceptional experience, but their personality does not fill you with excitement. Of course, it is possible to find a candidate who is talented AND has a wonderful personality, we find them all the time here at KLC, but if you find yourself questioning if someone is the right fit then remember this quote “the real opportunity for success lies within the person and not the job”.
With all of this in mind, to answer the question skills vs attitude: which is more important, the answer is both. Both are as equally important and when it comes to either interviewing for a new role, hiring a role, upskilling in your role or even in your personal life, the way you compose and present yourself is much more telling of your character than your skillset written down on your resume is.