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Grit Is Important in Hiring!
What do you need to succeed in today’s age of nonstop innovation? Intelligence, technical skills, and education might come to mind. But it turns out one of the biggest predictors of success isn’t listed on many resumes: grit.
But why is grit important — and how can those of us in the business of hiring identify candidates who will demonstrate grit at work?
Grit is closely related to many soft skills — the personal attitudes and practices that shape how we interact with others — that are already on recruiters’ radars.
For example, resilience is critical for entrepreneurs who must go through the circuit of finding investors; persistence goes hand-in-hand with creativity and innovation, as many iterations may be necessary to refine an idea; and a strong sense of purpose helps employees feel connected to their work.
The building blocks of grit may be perseverance and passion, but grit is more than the sum of its parts. People with grit are goal-oriented, purpose-driven, and willing to put in the work to realize their dreams and become the best in their fields.
Taken together, these elements make grit a key ingredient in innovation and creativity. People tend to underestimate the hard work that creativity requires, assuming it is an innate capability.
