Well, I guess I'd say technical skills. Yes,
technical skills. If they don't have the technical
skills then they can't do the job. Other skills like
management or business skills we can teach them
after they join, but they need to have the right
technical skills before they join. How about you?
Well, we're a global company and we need
people who can work internationally, so we're
looking for people who are flexible - flexible in their
thinking i mean. Leadership is also very important
for us - people have to be confident and show they
can work with other people in a team, even if other
members are much older than they are.
I see. you don't worry about the technical or business skills then?
Well, not as much, I think. We do look at work
experience a lot - what kind of work have they done
before, how have they shown leadership, teamwork
and that kind of thing. Other than technical skills,
what do you look for?
Work experience is important for us too, of
course. And also reliability - our work is difficult
and sometimes it can be dangerous. We need people
who we know will work hard and will stay with the
company for a long time.
OK. Anything else?
Yes, communication skills. we have plants all
over the world and our engineers need to travel a
lot to install equipment or to train people overseas.
They need to be able to communicate their ideas effectively.
I agree entirely! Communication skills are really
important nowadays, aren't they? I also think that
people who have good communication skills are also
more flexible, don't you think?
Well, I'm not sure about that - you may be right though.
I really think so. Let me give you an example of what I mean...