Can we properly select talent when we judge them independent of their interaction with a group? Unless we are hiring someone to work independently, is it not essential to understand the group dynamics? But even if we know the group dynamics, how much can we really know? Soon as we add the individual to the group, the dynamic will inevitably change. Just as we add an additional element to H2O, it is no longer water. I wonder if there really is a superior way to assess talent. This question haunts my thoughts. To ease the madness of my mind, I started to make a list via negativa; in other words, avoid the following for talent selection..
- Resume Dependence: Any process that leverages the contents of a resume will be a victim to confirmation bias. Also, the contents of a resume are like reading the summary of a great book. You might understand its thesis, but without proper context, the reader will miss the true value of the wisdom inside. The resume can be used for some aspects in the process, but as it stands today, it holds far too much weight in the selection process. Instead, the resume should be viewed through curious eyes and with a lack of judgment.
- Timed Interviews: Any process that limits the time of the interview to say, 30 minutes will lack quality information. If someone can impress you in 30 minutes, either they are very persuasive or you are easily impressed. Most interviews feel like an interrogation, which obviously is uncomfortable. By the 30 minute mark, the candidate may just be warming up or becoming comfortable. Besides, the time restriction forces the interviewer to be rushed, asking questions too quickly and not paying enough attention to the answers. This influences our biases as well. If the interviewer hears what they are expecting, they are a hire; if not, they are not a culture fit. Hiring talent takes time, and by creating an unnecessary time restraint, all the interviewer is doing is depriving themselves of quality information.
- Interviewer Education: Any process that awards a manager interviewing responsibility, because they are a manager will be vulnerable to many poor hires. For one, Corporate America many times promotes the wrong person into the position of manager. Just because someone was the best Sales Person does not mean they will be a great Sales Manager. This is a clear example of the Halo Effect. In addition, many managers see interviewing as a necessary evil and delegate the task to members of their team. Who many times are already drowning in projects and works. Hence the creation of timed interviews. Finally, is it in a team member’s best interest to hire someone better than them? Any individual responsible for interviewing should go through some sort of training. The responsibility of interviewing should be an honorable task, earned, not given to anyone with a title manager.
- Thoughtful Preparation: Any process that is winged or does not consist of proper planning is destined to fail. When hiring, thoughtful preparation must take part with all parties included. This does not mean creating a structured list of questions but being creative on how to frame the questions as well as how to design the flow of the conversation. Having an interview set up where the candidate is drilled with questions for 45 minutes and 15 minutes to ask questions is far from thoughtful. Instead, thinking about ways to create a meaningful conversation where both parties are equally contributing to the discussion. While ensuring that the conversation is relative to the objective of the meeting.
- Team Dynamics: Any process that does not truly understand important team dynamics will fail to hire for cultural fit. The culture of the team and the culture of the organization are not always the same. It’s pivotal that hiring managers understand this distinction and act accordingly. Besides, not hiring someone because you don’t believe they are a cultural fit is a coward’s way of saying I didn’t do my job of interviewing effectively. (Note as I mentioned above we can only understand team dynamics to a certain degree.)
