The Challenge of Hiring People

This video of Malcolm Gladwell talking about the challenge of hiring people is fabulous. The question he addresses is, “How do you hire the right person?”

He talks about the Mismatch Problem. Recruiters: Watch and weep.

BTW: If you’re asking new hires about their college GPAs, stop it now. It’s ridiculous. It has nothing to do with how well someone will do at work. (Um, I graduated with high honors in undergrad and grad school, so it’s not sour grapes.)

People I’d Want to Hire

Creating a great group isn’t that tough if you hire right. (The Warm Body Method of Recruiting is the opposite of what I’m talking about.) Here are some traits I look for:

  1. People who are passionately interested in their field
  2. People who know the best people in their business
  3. People who ask, “What do we need to get done today?” before they get to work
  4. People who watch the clock in the morning and get in on time
  5. People who don’t watch the clock at the end of the day
  6. People who are smart (you can teach them anything)
  7. People who are witty (they’re fun to be around)
  8. People who have talents that don’t have anything to do with work
  9. People you can count on
  10. People who say “We” instead of “I”

    11. 100 Places to Find Talent

    Where the Talent Is: 100 Sites to Find the Elite in Any-Given-Field by Heather Johnson is plain good. In this down economy, finding great talent is essential. (I have a hunch that there’s going to be a lot of talent movement. Big talent who toil at companies that are not paying out AIP and LTI will have a roving eye.)

    HR Rule of Thumb - Hiring Superstars

    Here’s an HR Rule of Thumb: It’s better to have a superstar in your company for a year than it is to have an average employee for five years. This rule is also known as Retention Ain’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be.

    What’s Your GPA?

    Overheard on 18th Street in Philadelphia last night: “I don’t think that success in law school is any predictor of how a person will do in the firm.”

    That was from a group of attorneys walking toward me in custom suits. Partners and managing partners. That type. Which got me thinking.

    Do you still ask candidates about their GPA (grade point average)? I mean, seriously. John McCain graduated almost at the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy; now he’s the Republican candidate for POTUS. Edison. Einstein. Etc. All bad students. But I wouldn’t mind having their type in my company.

    What’s GPA got to do with it? Smart people have great GPAs. But so do people who are expert at giving teachers what they want. What do you want when you ask about GPA? Compliance or innovation?

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