Nigel Brewster of Brewster McBride Recruitment Consultants looks at the key differences between an employee's skillset and mindset…and which you should be concerned about as an employer…

When entering the jobs market we have all heard how important it is to make sure you have got the right 'skillset'. 

In fact, skills are a major issue for both employees and employers alike. Employees need to gain the required skills to fulfill certain jobs or types of career and employers themselves are constantly searching for the skills to fill jobs that will enable their business to grow.

But in recent years, this concept has become slightly more confusing with the arrival of the debate among career experts about which is more important: 'skillset' or 'mindset'.

So, what do we mean by mindset? 

Well, and employee's mindset typically covers areas such as; attitude, integrity, work ethic, personality, etc.  These are thing things other that job specific skills that enable an individual to fit into the business culture.

Whilst skills are certainly desirable for many positions, just having the right skills nowadays doesn't always guarantee that you will get the job.  For most jobs, it is a pretty obvious point but an applicant's skillset needs to come first. 

 Let's be honest, as an employer, you usually want to be sure that the person can actually do whatever it is they will be asked to do.  For example, IT Programmers have to know how to programs, Accountants need to know how to crunch numbers in Excel and Marketeers must know their marketing techniques. 

However, in a market where the supply of candidates is greater than the demand for their services (like the one we find ourselves in at the moment with ever increasing numbers of unemployed) once employers have satisfied themselves about an applicant's ability do the job (their skills) the employer will often differentiate between potential candidates by shifting their focus to their candidates' mindsets.

Businesses and hiring managers give differing answers when asked whether when looking to recruit they would go for the person with the perfect skills and qualifications, but lacking the desired mindset, or the person with the desired mindset, but lacking the rest? 

Interestingly enough, our experience shows that there is a clear spilt between skills and attitude, but what we do see is that there is a growing consensus that it is more likely that a person with the right mindset will develop the right skillset, rather than the other way around.

Let's be clear here… we are not saying that the right attitude will get you the right job over someone else with relevant experience.  But, what we are saying is that in our opinion, the key to success in the jobs market is the ability to demonstrate skills and experience relevant of those required for the technical elements of the job COMBINED with the attitude, work ethic and general personality required to fit into the culture of the organisation.

So, when it comes to a question of which is more important: skillset of mindset?... It's safe to say that the jury is still very much out on this one, but when they exist together they are a winning combination.

What do you think: skillset or mindset?

Nigel Brewster