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Myths of Hiring, Part 4

In the last few issues of Hiring Line we discussed some of the most common "myths" we hear in the hiring process. In the nxt few issues we will continue to address them.

"WE WANT TO HIRE A PERSON EXACTLY LIKE WE HAD BEFORE." We recognize that if something works well, it's best not to question it or change it. However, no two people are alike and sometimes it's even better to purposely hire an opposite type person so that comparisons cannot be made easily. By hiring an opposite the new person has an advantage by not being type cast. Recently a seasoned client purposely hired a man in his mid forties to cover a sales territory vacated by an attractive female in her early twenties. This way his customers were forced to judge the new sales person individually because he couldn't be easily compared to the last sales person. The salesman didn't have to live up to any previous personality.

"WE CAN"T HIRE THE CANDIDATE...HE'S BEEN A MANAGER...VICE PRESIDENT...ETC." In other words, people are afraid of the candidate's previous title and/or responsibility. They are afraid that if they hire the candidate he will keep looking for a management job. The problem is that their objection has to do with the future and no one can predict it. If the candidate doesn't get hired, it is certain he can't leave for a better, management job. The truth is that good performers don't keep looking for a job after they take one. If the position they take is reasonable they will devote themselves and commit to the task. The vast majority of managers are promoted from within. Most managers know that. The better the company the more they promote from within. A good performer who has grown into management once before will know how to do it again. It's an act of physics -- the cream rises. Good people get to the top by performing regardless of what level they start.

The successful hiring of a manager for a lesser position depends on the challenge of the job too. Provided the position is a reasonable challenge for the candidate and he realizes exactly what he is getting into, a good ex-manager can make a wonderful subordinate employee. If the compensation is reasonably close to previous earnings of the candidate, he can create and grow into other positions. Good talent always does.

Titles

Titles just don't tell the whole story. One company's Vice President is another company's sales person. We shouldn't be misled by a candidate's previous title. So much would depend on the candidate's previous duties and responsibilities, the size of his previous company, the carry over of his experience to the present position, etc. Too often candidates are dismissed as contenders because of their previous titles. Instead of the prospective employer investigating the level of duties and responsibilities of the candidate, he dismisses the candidate. A good manager knows what to do to serve as well as manage. In fact he may know how to serve better since he has managed before. Most management experts agree that a good chief can often be a better Indian simply because that's normally how he got to be chief. The point is to disregard previous titles in interviewing and hiring a candidate. Take into consideration, however, previous experience, duties and responsibilities and assessing their compatibility with the task at hand. Put into perspective his previous title, it may have nothing to do with the real level of his previous job. Getting hung up on titles can keep a potentially good employee from being hired.

"WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE EXPERIENCED IN WHAT WE DO." We devote two issues of HIRING LINE to the dilemma of hiring experience or a person who needs to be trained. The issue here is not what it appears to be. Candidates with experience consistent with the business they are applying to have an advantage in their ability to identify with the company they are interviewing with. It does not make them better employees. Now they may, as we are often told, "hit the ground running" but they are not better employees because of it. Maybe they produce a little faster. Maybe they know the lingo, the customers, and the problems more so than other candidates, but it doesn't make them better employees.

Everyone has experience. Candidates with exact experience may be of value, but to limit oneself to only those candidates is shortsighted. Good people are good people. We have found over the years that good employees with good track records make good employees no matter what they do. Now we know that most accountants don't want to be engineers and most sales managers won't be good plant managers. Within reason though, the key is to find good performers regardless of their exact experience.

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