20 of March, 2025

When looking to hire staff for a company, a large number of resumes can be received. If the goal is to secure ideal personnel, a list of strong work attitudes and skills will need to be established.

Both types of competencies represent added value for the company and are determinative when choosing the ideal candidate for the position. To facilitate this task, the difference between work attitudes and skills is explained below, as well as the qualities needed for staff selection. Keep reading!

What are the main work attitudes

Attitude and skill are two key aspects in staff selection, both characteristics complement each other. The sum of both can make a difference against the competition. However, to find the ideal candidate, you need to know the list of positive and negative work attitudes.

Attitude: what is it?

When we talk about attitude, we are referring to the patterns of behavior that a person has learned over time. It’s about the way one faces life, the challenges, or tasks therein.

The way to respond to certain situations and the way to act arises from education, social environment, and lived experiences. Depending on the moment, one attitude may show more than another, but one always predominates. That’s why companies must choose candidates with the work attitudes they desire for the company.

What are the most sought-after work attitudes?

Now that you understand what they are, you should consider the list of work attitudes most valued by companies, although each company can adapt it to its corporate culture. These include:

Positive attitude

Having a good attitude promotes job motivation both for the employee and the rest of the colleagues, making the work more fruitful and satisfying for the entire staff. Workers with a positive attitude often act as leaders that the rest of the team follows.

Initiative and dynamism

Dynamism and initiative are some of the positive work attitudes most sought after. The introduction of new ideas and signs of interest denote professionals identified with the brand.

Creativity

Pitching new innovative ideas allow continuous problem-solving. Creativity shows a desire to learn and increase productivity. Therefore, creative professionals are some of the most sought after in the company selection processes.

Communication abilities and interpersonal skills

Both verbal and non-verbal communication show a person’s character to recruiters. A good communicator can make themselves understood in a simpler way, avoiding the typical problems of poor communication.

This ability is related to interaction with other people to secure jobs. The empathy and adaptability to each circumstance knowing how to transmit clear ideas are some of the work attitudes most sought after.

Stress control and problem-solving

Among the work attitudes that are most valued is efficiently solving problems. This will lead to higher effectiveness.

On the other hand, it is one of the positive work attitudes most useful for companies, as it allows managing complicated situations without affecting job productivity.

Other work attitudes to consider

Among them are the following:

Negotiation skills.
Perseverance and resilience.
Responsibility and commitment to the company’s objectives.
Ability for teamwork.
Willingness for continuous learning.
Quality and excellence in work.
Customer and goal orientation.

Difference between work attitudes and skills

One of the terms often confused with is work skill. But, what is a skill?

Most sought after skills

This term refers to the abilities to acquire new skills through learning. Skills play a major role in the workplace. They include the following:

Critical thinking to analyze and repair errors.
Proactivity to take control of situations.
Continuous learning in each area.
Ability for team management.

Differences between attitude and skill

Both concepts are similar and can be easily confused. To differentiate them, it should be noted that skill is the ability to acquire new skills, while attitude is the result of this process.

On the other hand, skill is innate, associated with intelligence, while attitude is marked by a sum of experiences lived, being related to personality. Moreover, skill is unalterable and rigid, while attitude is much more fluid.

However, both are necessary for any worker, as they complement each other. For this reason, having a Human Resources software like Sesame HR can help find the necessary staff, creating analyses and comparing employee progress.

Work attitude tests

A work attitude test can guide the company on what each person is like, although these attitudes are harder to measure than it seems. Various methods can be used for this, such as:

Work surveys.
Performance evaluations.
Behavior analysis.
Interviews about an employee’s behavior.

How to conduct a work attitude test

The steps to conduct a work attitude test are as follows:

Select the type of test. There are different test formats. Therefore, the first step is to choose the type of work attitude test that will be used, depending on what you want to analyze.
Choose the specific tool to conduct it. There are many tools that offer work attitude tests, both in physical and digital format. These should be reliable and secure.
Administer the test. The next step is to administer the test to the candidates, whether it’s in-person or online. The most convenient way is to do it online.
Evaluate the results. Once the candidates have taken the test, the company must evaluate the results. It is best for a psychologist or a human resources expert to do this to find the person suitable for each position.

If you follow these steps when evaluating work attitudes you can achieve the desired results. If you want to learn more about this and other related HR topics, don’t hesitate to visit our blog. We are your trusted HR software!

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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cristinamartin

HR Content Specialist

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