Qualifications vs Personality

BETWEEN qualified credentials and a great personality, which would an employer pick?
According to a recent JobStreet.com survey carried out among 568 HR professionals across various industries in Malaysia in August, 51% of employers surveyed chose “great personality” as the main criteria of a good employee, while only 14% of them chose “qualifications”.
JobStreet.com country manager Chook Yuh Yng said that although employees with good qualifications are in demand, many employers are starting to place a higher value on employees with pleasing personalities.
“Skills and qualifications can be attained over time, but employees with the right attitudes are hard to come by, those who are positive and are able to work well with others,” she said.
When the employers were asked to rate the importance of certain skills in an employee, leadership skills was ranked as the most important skill.
Technical skills came in second, followed by multitasking, communication and interpersonal skills.
“Leadership skills is the ability to make decisions and solve problems. Employees who harness these skills are valuable to any company as they are keen to take on responsibility and follow a judicious course of action, taking full accountability for the results of their decisions,” she added.
Moreover, the JobStreet.com Employer Perception of Fresh Graduates survey revealed that 39% of employers said that fresh graduates have an extra advantage if they have held leadership positions in their universities.