I was asked recently what qualities I look for when hiring a writer at our firm.  Here's the list.  It comes from years of working in the agency business, and having the opportunity to hire and work with some very talented writers.

7 Qualities

1. Journalistic - objective with a healthy dose of constructive cynicism.  This person really wants to understand why an idea, concept, feature, etc. has merit.
2. Visual - this person understands the power of visual communication and wants to contribute visual ideas during the process.
3. Imaginative - this person lives for finding interesting and arresting ways to communicate an idea.
4. Fearless - willing to tackle any assignment.  This person is adventurous and not afraid of making mistakes.
5. Resourceful - a researcher by nature.  This person wants to learn and expand skills and knowledge.
6. Curious - this person wants to learn about new things, from software to social channels to new tools and more.
7. Collaborative - this person realizes that the best ideas most often come from great collaboration.