It’s so hard to find good employees. Ask any business owner and they will nod in agreement. It’s staggering, really. I’m not even talking about job knowledge or specific skill sets. What I’m talking about are the intangibles–things that I think most business owners assume come with any job, and are (maybe not so much anymore) surprised when their employees lack these things.

If you want to be a good employee, you need ALL four of these traits:

Show up, on time

Is it really that hard? Yes, apparently it is.

Complete your work

If you need more time, ask for it. Otherwise we assume that you’ll finish it on time and/or on budget.

Don’t complain about your work

If you don’t like your job, you’re welcome to find a new one.

Take initiative

If you see something that needs to be done, don’t wait to be prompted, just do it.

I used to be an employer. I have friends that still are employers. When we found a person who exhibited these traits, we did everything we could to hang on to them. Skills can be taught, but the traits I listed above are unteachable. You either have them or you don’t.