What skills should employers look for when screening a potential new hire? Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu and Simone Ahuja, who wrote the new book Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth, shared some suggestions with readers of Monster.com.

The authors define “jugaad” as a word from the Hindu language ”meaning an innovative fix” or an “an improvised solution born from ingenuity and resourcefulness.” Here are the six “street-smart” skills they deem the most valuable in order to find staffers with the ability to do “jugaad” at the office:

• ·         Resilience – does the person have the ability to bounce back after a setback?
• ·         Frugality – can the jobseeker “do more with less,” being able to manage with fewer resources?
• ·         Flexibility – does the jobseeker have the ability to come up with innovative solutions to problems, even when things are unpredictable?
• ·         Simplicity – can the candidate make things simple, for many people to use, instead of going for the complex?
• ·         Empathy – is the jobseeker able to put him or himself in others’ shoes, to include “marginal (and marginalized) customers”?
• ·         Passion – does the person have the ability to show passion for the company, and the products, and to follow their heart and not just their head?

All these skills are things employers can screen in the interview process. The authors say that these six skills are what companies like GE, PepsiCo, and Google, among others, are now looking for.

Written by Lisa Swan