You’ve heard of these traits before but it’s time you start taking them to heart. During my talk with Dakota Younger, an expert on recruiting great talent and CEO of Boon. Boon is a game changing platform for finding and hiring the best talent. During our talk, Dakota identifies a fews traits he keeps in mind while looking for talent.

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First on his list is GRIT:

You can think of grit as overcoming challenges and carrying on in the face of adversity. I prefer to think of the 1993 hit movie, The Bronx Tale.

“It don’t take much strength to pull a trigger, but try to get up every morning day after day and work for a living. Lets see him try that! Then we’ll see who’s the real tough guy, the working man is the tough guy.”

When you’re looking for grit, make sure to ask questions such as:

What was the most challenging project you’ve worked on?How long did you spend on that project?How did you overcome the challenges and obstacles of the project?

Second on the list is Intuition and Creative Problem Solving:

You want to keep an eye out for employees that show a creative edge. Someone that can look at what’s been done previously and decide whether to do it again. Yes, doing this takes some intuition, especially in the face of resistance. That’s why you should drill down during the interview. We’re looking to hire great talent, not good talent.

Here’s some questions to help you along:

What was a difficult decision for you that didn’t have the support of your peers?What was a prevailing problem and how did you solve it?How would you explain [blank]? The key is to pay attention to the words and analogies they use.

Third and final on the list is Integrity and Honesty:

Your organization needs to be a safe space to think outside of the box and share ideas to grow. You can’t measure this by asking questions either, you have to feel this one. What emotions arise when they answer your questions? What do previous employers tell you? What does your gut tell you?

The point is, integrity and honesty is the foundation of your organization. Take time to seek these qualities out and you’ll have a staff that can far exceed the status quo in the industry.

Stay tuned for part 2. In part 2, I’ll cover the less talked about side of entrepreneurship.

For more great recruiting advice, check out the Boon Blog. Visit theGarageToIPO SoundCloud to listen to the full conversation.

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