Jim was the perfect candidate for a sales position, with many years of experience and excellent communication skills. But the manager at XYZ Pumping Co. had some reservations during his job interview. Jim’s strong focus on results “right now” and a certain aggressiveness that could upset prospective customers were some of the weaknesses he was concerned about.

Yet Jim’s responses regarding topics like dedication to excellence were on target. He sold himself like never before and got hired. Four months later, Jim was fired for lack of dedication and, worst of all, for lack of honesty in his intentions.

The manager made a hiring decision on what he saw and heard at the moment. He was swayed by Jim’s salesmanship and fooled by Jim’s hidden intention: to get the job “no matter what needs to be said.” This is not an uncommon outcome, but there is another way to ensure a better employee fit for the open position.

The Steve Jobs philosophy

Steve Jobs, the late cofounder and CEO of Apple Inc., was an unconventional leader in many respects. His reputation as the best entrepreneur of our time can be summarized in a few words: he and his top execs never compromised on the talents and qualifications required of their employees. He personally interviewed more than 5,000 applicants during his career. But he and his executives considered very different qualities in people than most business owners do.

While you’re running a vital service business and not a titan of high technology, you can still adapt Steve Jobs’ ideas to meet your needs when looking to attract quality employees and avoid troublemakers. To help you in the hiring process, here are Apple’s main “selection attributes.”

Vision-minded. Everyone joining the company must have a clear picture of its vision and agree to live by it and with it every day. When you hire people who don’t seem to care about your company’s vision, you may end up letting them go in the future.

Innovation-minded. Steve Jobs emphasized the importance of hiring people who are innovative — willing to create something from nothing. Applicants are first chosen for their ability and willingness to be innovative or creative, rather than for their technical competence.

Future-minded. Apple employees are driven by the company’s vision of the future, and they contribute every day to creating the future, more than just beating the competition. The eagerness to create, not follow, the future is a vital attribute observed in top employees, no matter the industry.

Passion-minded. Steve Jobs’ first principle was: “Do what you love.” People are hired because they appreciate the industry and the company. Applicants who do not demonstrate this feeling will never make it.

Engagement-minded. The majority of Americans are not engaged in their workplace. Apple management is strict on employees’ level of commitment. Committed individuals make the difference in competitive conditions.

Excellence-minded. Steve Jobs was known for his passion for perfection. The company always tries things out until they are perfectly done. The same attitude is expected of every employee. Applicants who do not share that passion for excellence do not have a chance.

Soft skills

The points above are all personality-related attributes, or soft skills. They do not always guarantee performance. But the chance of selecting productive people is much higher when focusing on these vital soft skills. To avoid falling in the momentary personality trap — as the manager in the opening example did — you should also focus on these two basic soft skills:

Honesty. Did you know that one third of all business failures in the United States are due to employee theft? Also, 95 percent of all U.S. companies are victims of theft, and yet only 10 percent ever discover it. Everybody recognizes the importance of honesty, so it would make sense to evaluate it prior to evaluating any other soft skill, wouldn’t it?

Strong indicators allow you to evaluate honesty, including gaps in work history, contradictory data between a resume and a job application, and negative reaction or embarrassment from the applicant to any challenging questions you may ask.

Willingness. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 87 percent of employee failures are due to unwillingness to do the job. You can’t force someone to do something if they do not want to. Such individuals will do what you want to keep their job, but they will not put their heart into it.

Most applicants will tell you they are willing, of course. The key to finding out if they are honest is to ask them to prove it. Ask them to give you specific examples of when they have been willing to work hard, learn something new, work under tough conditions, etc.

A final thought

So hire the Steve Jobs way. But don’t forget these two basic attributes in the process. Let applicants know that your company values imply honesty and willingness/positive attitude as primary criteria for hiring, no matter the position. Lack of either is enough to be considered unqualified.