# 4 things Employers Look For **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157 "2014-04-02T11:52:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/21 "2014-04-03T00:03:17Z")
Clean shoes. A lot of men neglect to shine their shoes nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/22 "2014-04-03T00:14:19Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I’m an employer (very small outfit; 1-3 employees depending on the season and work-load.) > > I’ve found that drinking or using on the job is sadly common, in my experience. The last two people I let go were getting high and weird at work. Don’t take this as snark, but the times I was in the same employing position, it wasn’t like the best and brightest came flooding in. As a small employer I found that a LOT of things kind of had to be overlooked, the bar for competence could only be set so high. Not that I condone getting high at work - but usually the applicant pool for very small companies is not good. It was very frustrating at times. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/23 "2014-04-03T00:41:38Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > And remain sober. EVERY work day. ALL day, every day - no hanging out in the bathroom, nipping at your bottle hidden in the toilet tank. > [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Don’t take this as snark, but the times I was in the same employing position, it wasn’t like the best and brightest came flooding in. As a small employer I found that a LOT of things kind of had to be overlooked, the bar for competence could only be set so high. Not that I condone getting high at work - but usually the applicant pool for very small companies is not good. It was very frustrating at times. That was going to be my anecdote - I heard about a company where they had to relax their drug-testing rules, because everyone would have been fired and no work getting done. There’s what you want, ideally, and what you have to live with in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/24 "2014-04-03T00:55:53Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > ALL day, every day - no hanging out in the bathroom, nipping at your bottle hidden in the toilet tank. > … Sounds like you have experience. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/25 "2014-04-03T01:00:10Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Sounds like you have experience. 😉 I admit nothing! ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/26 "2014-04-03T01:28:43Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > 1. How long will you stay? > > 2. How much will you cost them (salary plus any special issues you bring along)? These two, speaking as someone seeking employment, are the weird ones. Everyone seems to be looking for someone who wants to work 20 hours a week for the next 30 years, understanding that you could be let go at any moment to save a few bucks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/27 "2014-04-03T05:21:06Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > And remain sober. EVERY work day. I opted out of that plan. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/28 "2014-04-03T05:26:20Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Actually those questions are good if you are hiring cogs. A better question is “how are you going to make me more money?” Someone with a good answer to that question is doing the employer a favor by working there. > If getting fired hurts the boss more than it hurts you, you’ll never get fired. Perhaps rephrasing this point, somebody once said that he always asks himself one question: “Is this person worth the money we’ll be paying him?” ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/29 "2014-04-03T05:42:47Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Actually those questions are good if you are hiring cogs. A better question is “how are you going to make me more money?” Someone with a good answer to that question is doing the employer a favor by working there. > If getting fired hurts the boss more than it hurts you, you’ll never get fired. That would go along with #1 - What do you bring to the job? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/30 "2014-04-03T05:45:41Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Around here, it seems that full sleeve tattoos and exotic facial piercings are a necessity for a job. Perfect example for #2 Will you get along at this job? Actually a better way to phrase this is “will you fit in?”. Years ago I would have said ink and piercings would hurt ones job prospects but it seems to be more accepted now. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/31 "2014-04-03T05:47:54Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > These two, speaking as someone seeking employment, are the weird ones. Everyone seems to be looking for someone who wants to work 20 hours a week for the next 30 years, understanding that you could be let go at any moment to save a few bucks. 🙂 Yeah, I dont get that either. Only getting paid for 20 hours a week isnt an incentive to stay very long. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/32 "2014-04-03T06:32:08Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Yeah, people often act like its them doing the employer a favor by working there instead of vise versa. It’s not “vice versa”: a labor contract should be a benefit to both parties, you seem to think it only favors the worker. If it only favored the workers, there wouldn’t be any reason for the company to keep them. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/33 "2014-04-03T12:40:22Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Don’t take this as snark, but the times I was in the same employing position, it wasn’t like the best and brightest came flooding in. As a small employer I found that a LOT of things kind of had to be overlooked, the bar for competence could only be set so high. Not that I condone getting high at work - but usually the applicant pool for very small companies is not good. It was very frustrating at times. No offense taken. I’m a painting contractor + decorative painter, so it’s not as if I’m looking for perfectly groomed people with impressive, ivy-encrusted CVs. My current full-time helper has a nose ring, tongue stud and several missing teeth. But she’s a GREAT worker and rather than scaring clients, they all seem to really like her. She certainly wouldn’t pass a drug test because she smokes weed on occasion. But drinking or using on the job is verboten, especially since we often work in very nice homes and businesses, not to mention for liability concerns. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/34 "2014-04-03T15:01:32Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > It’s not “vice versa”: a labor contract should be a benefit to both parties, you seem to think it only favors the worker. If it only favored the workers, there wouldn’t be any reason for the company to keep them. Thank you for pointing this out. When managers act as though they are doing their employees a favor by hiring them, it causes more problems than the other way around. One thing, it’s a pathway to exploitation. And also, what you’ll do is drive out high-achieving talent (who will resent their accomplishments being taken for granted). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/35 "2014-04-03T15:21:21Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Thank you for pointing this out. > > When managers act as though they are doing their employees a favor by hiring them, it causes more problems than the other way around. One thing, it’s a pathway to exploitation. And also, what you’ll do is drive out high-achieving talent (who will resent their accomplishments being taken for granted). This is an ongoing problem I have with the temp agencies I work for; I understand very well that they are handling the parts of the job that I have no interest in (finding the jobs, billing, collecting, payroll, etc.), and I have no problem with them getting 25% of the hourly billing rate paid for that. What I do have a problem with is temp agencies who act like I’m some kind of serf, that I have no say in anything and should be kissing their feet for them finding me work. They get paid NOTHING if I don’t show up and put in the hours, and I wish they would realize that it is very much a symbiotic relationship and start treating temps with the courtesy you would show any other human being. I should add, the agency I’m with now has been great for this; the last one, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/36 "2014-04-03T17:15:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Actually those questions are good if you are hiring cogs. A better question is “how are you going to make me more money?” Someone with a good answer to that question is doing the employer a favor by working there. > If getting fired hurts the boss more than it hurts you, you’ll never get fired. What makes you think most employees aren’t “cogs” in some form or another? I mean for all this talk of “high achieving talent”, what do 99% of employees actually “achieve” in their job? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/37 "2014-04-03T18:45:43Z")
“[del]37[/del] 0 days since last sexual harassment claim!” ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/38 "2014-04-04T09:10:29Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Yeah, I dont get that either. Only getting paid for 20 hours a week isnt an incentive to stay very long. I read a while back that it works quite well in Germany. Of course, people have two of these jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/39 "2014-04-04T09:37:17Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > What makes you think most employees aren’t “cogs” in some form or another? I mean for all this talk of “high achieving talent”, what do 99% of employees actually “achieve” in their job? That goes with #3. How long will you stay? In many jobs, especially sales and computers, many people just work at a place just long enough to add to their resume and then want to take that knowledge and move along to hopefully something better. I know in computers they are careful to keep new employees away from their most advanced systems so they dont just take that knowledge to a better employer. In sales they dont want them to build their own client list to also take elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157/40 "2014-04-04T12:15:06Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > That goes with #3. How long will you stay? In many jobs, especially sales and computers, many people just work at a place just long enough to add to their resume and then want to take that knowledge and move along to hopefully something better. I know in computers they are careful to keep new employees away from their most advanced systems so they dont just take that knowledge to a better employer. > > In sales they dont want them to build their own client list to also take elsewhere. Actually, I have never heard of any employer doing that, and I’ve been in computers for a long time. There is little to no expectation that programmers have any longevity at any company. Technology changes very quickly and work tends to be project based. Startups form quickly and run out of steam just as quickly. Unless you work at a rapidly rising Facebook or Amazon or your on the partner path at a tech consulting firm like, Accenture, tech workers frequently change companies to follow the newest and most interesting projects. Companies protect themselves by having their employees sign non-competes and non-disclosures, not by “keeping them away from the most advanced systems”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-things-employers-look-for/685157.md?page=3)