🥇 The #1 trait to look for in a new hire

The secret to hiring elite global talent for “level-one” roles?

Attitude > Skills

I've hired a ton of people over the years, and have learned one crucial lesson:

Skills can be taught. Attitude? Not so much.

Instead of a laundry list of qualifications, like “mUsT hAvE 5 yEarS of eXpEriEnCe!!”…

Here's what I look for:

• General intelligence

• Solid English skills

• Tech-savviness (they don't need to be a coding wizard, just comfortable with technology)

• High energy and drive

• Coachability

That's it. That's the recipe.

Now, you might be thinking, “Jon, are you crazy?!”

But here's the thing:

When you hire for attitude, what you’re really investing in is potential.

Let me break it down for you:

Why attitude trumps skills

Your business is constantly evolving, right?

So why hire someone who's only good at one specific thing?

Let's say you hire someone because they're a “Notion expert.”

Great, they know Notion inside and out.

But what happens when you decide to switch to ClickUp a few weeks later?

That's why I look for adaptable problem-solvers, not just skill-specific experts.

I need someone who can say, “Never used ClickUp before? No problem, I'll figure it out!”

Someone with the right attitude will take on new challenges eagerly…

And before you know it, they'll go from an entry-level position to running entire departments.

Innovation comes from fresh perspectives

When you're not tied down to “industry experience,” you open the door to fresh ideas.

Sometimes, the best solutions come from someone who doesn't know “that's not how we do things.”

Plus, when you hire for attitude, you'll build a team always looking for ways to improve and grow.

So, how do you test for “attitude hires” during the interview process?

Give them an ambiguous project.

Something like, “We're thinking about switching our project management tools. Can you research options and make a recommendation?”

Sit back and watch what happens.

The ones who ask a million questions? Pass.

The ones who just Google and copy-paste? Hard pass.

But the ones who dig into you and your company and come back with a tailored solution?

Those are your diamonds in the rough.

Now, here's the catch:

Finding high-quality, attitude-first hires isn't easy.

That's where Sagan Passport comes in.

We help pair businesses with incredible global talent…

Who have winning attitudes AND great skills—giving you the best of both worlds.

With Sagan, you get:

• Access to top-tier global talent with winning attitudes

• A community of founders and executives scaling with international hires

• Potential savings of up to 80% compared to U.S. salary equivalents

“We’ve already hired six people in two months and we're thrilled with every one. In fact, our entire engineering team are from Sagan… for the cost of a single Silicon Valley engineer.” - Rogelio Caceres, CEO, GlobalPassport.ai

Ready to transform your team with world-class talent for a fraction of the cost?

Book a quick 15-minute call with us here.

We'll show you how to find and nurture global talent that'll help take your business to the next level.

Yallah Habibi,

Jon

Passage of the Week

“You should not be afraid of someone who has a library and reads many books; you should fear someone who has only one book; and he considers it sacred, but he has never read it.” -Friedrich Nietzsche