“The life of man requires being regulated by the virtues with regard to everything” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summ. Theo. II-II, 160, 1).

An Entrepreneur article by journalist and author Jonathan Small cites research by Hyper Island, an education company, that found that 78% of corporate leaders choose personality over skills when hiring. But how can we assess personality when our first look at a prospective employee is a résumé that shows us little but the keywords needed to get an interview?

What, really, should a Catholic hiring manager be looking for in a “personality”?

Small lists five personality traits to look for when hiring. Let’s look at them through a Catholic lens by asking, “What virtues should a prospective employee have?”

Good People Skills

“Good people skills” combines several virtues, but let’s pick two to look at more closely: curiosity and justice.

As a virtue, curiosity means seeking truth in a godly way for a godly reason (that is, no nosiness or seeking truth for gossip fodder). In an interview, we can ask a prospective employee for examples of times when they disagreed with a co-worker and what the outcome was. If they have a holy curiosity, they’ll describe how they listened to better understand the co-worker’s reasons for his or her opinions.

It’s all too easy to dismiss what others think, especially as we gain experience and pridefully imagine we have it all figured out. Holy curiosity replaces a snap judgment with an open-ended “Tell me more,” which honors the other’s dignity.

The just person strives to give everyone what he or she deserves in the eyes of God. That means a good employee will work straightforwardly toward what will best serve the business, co-workers, and clients, looking beyond his or her personal interests. This quality engenders trust, which is the cornerstone of a healthy work culture.

Ask interviewees to describe a time when they let go of their personal preference to serve the needs of the business and what was that experience like for them.

Problem-Solving

Prudence is the virtue that enables us to make good decisions and solve problems in a just way. A prudent person will consider many sources when solving a problem, including examining  the results of past experience, gaining counsel from trusted advisers, gathering data, assessing risks, looking at probable benefits, and, of course, prayer—asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.

To help assess prudence, ask a prospective employee about a particularly tough decision they made and what factors they considered in making it.

Confidence

The Latin root of the word “confidence” is “complete trust.” St. Thomas Aquinas defines confidence as trust in oneself and quickly adds, “but under God withal.”

A person with the virtue of confidence trusts that God is giving them what they need to fulfill His will, having done the necessary groundwork (professional and personal development) for a godly outcome.

Confidence will show itself in many ways during an interview, including an interviewee’s ability to carefully listen and respond thoughtfully to your questions.

Reliability

Humility, honesty, and justice come into play here. An employee who puts the interests of their employer over their own interests arrives at work on time, spends their time wisely, and does what they say they will do. These marks of reliability positively affect other staff and help build a culture of trust.

The most effective way to check for this all-important virtue in prospective employees is to ask their former employers, if they’ve included any on their list of references.

Coachability

The virtue that makes us coachable is docility, which has nothing to do with timid acceptance. The word comes from the Latin verb “docere,” meaning “to teach.” It means we don’t go around as know-it-alls but, instead, are open to learning new things.

Docility assumes that the one teaching is trustworthy and that what we’re learning is bringing us closer to personal and professional excellence, ever more able to build up the Kingdom by contributing to the true, good, and beautiful things in this world—which are harbingers of the next.

To gauge coachability in an interview with a prospective employee, ask for one important thing they learned from a former boss or co-worker and how it felt to be coached by that person.

Doing Our Part

Of course, in choosing staff members wisely, we need also to look at ourselves. Do we embody the qualities we’re looking for in a member of our team?

Rose Folsom teaches people leadership skills that business schools don’t teach them. Virtues like patience, forgiveness, and courage are the foundation of good leadership and make us confident leaders that people trust, respect, and want to follow. Download Rose’s “Top 10 Tips for Patience.” Her experience as solopreneur and supervisor and her study of Thomistic theology have made her passionate about helping you live a virtuous life that gives you the peace and joy that support your mission and purpose.