Why employers screen for these
Technical ability gets you the interview. Reliability, communication and attitude get you the job and keep it. Managers in every industry report the same list of reasons people do not last: attendance, communication, unwillingness to take direction, and conflict with coworkers. None of them are about technical skill.
The core list
- Attendance and punctuality: the first thing every reference check asks about.
- Communication: saying clearly what you need, what you did and what went wrong, before it becomes a problem.
- Taking direction and feedback: without defensiveness, and acting on it the same week.
- Teamwork: covering for others, sharing information, not building a private empire.
- Problem solving: bringing a suggested solution along with the problem.
- Customer focus: in almost every job, someone is your customer, internal or external.
- Adaptability: procedures and systems change constantly; resistance is noticed fast.
Demonstrating them on paper
Do not list "team player" as a skill. Show it in a bullet: covered two shifts a week for a short staffed department for six months with no schedule conflicts. Specific behavior beats an adjective every time.
The first ninety days
New hires are evaluated harder than they expect. Arrive early, ask questions in the first two weeks while it is still expected, write down instructions, learn names, keep your phone in your pocket, and finish what you say you will finish. Most probation failures are behavioral, not technical.
Workplace conflict
Handle it directly, privately and early with the person involved. Escalate to a supervisor only when direct conversation has failed. Never handle it in a group message or in front of customers. This is the single skill that most often separates people who advance from people who move sideways every two years.