Our company has experienced ten recessions and expansions in employment since 1952. In many ways, they\u2019re alike in the sense that the economy is more difficult and hiring slows only to be followed by an expansion. We all know objectively that these expansions and contractions are always going to happen. None of us know when. The mistake most of us make is to \u201cread our own press clippings\u201d and think that we\u2019re smart enough and wise enough to outsmart and outrun a downturn in the economy. If we survived two or three recessions we realize that, as one of our ex-presidents successfully campaigned, \u201cIt\u2019s the economy, stupid.\u201d A good economy masks many sins.<\/p>\n
Here are some myths about hiring that many hiring authorities use as criteria for hiring. The most successful hiring authorities realize that these are myths:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really good at hiring.\u201d <\/strong>Numerous studies show that the typical employment interviewing process is only 57% effective in predicting subsequent employees\u2019 success. That\u2019s only 7% better than flipping a coin.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so busy; we just don\u2019t have time to screen candidates. Someone else needs to screen the best candidates.\u201d<\/strong> And of course, everyone doing the screening knows exactly what \u201cbest\u201d is, even if the HR person doing the screening has only been on the job three weeks or it\u2019s somebody\u2019s admin trying to \u201ctake a load off the boss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe never make a mistake hiring.\u201d <\/strong>You\u2019re either a liar or you\u2019ve never hired anyone.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t send us anybody resembling the last person who didn\u2019t work out. We want to avoid anyone who is too short, too fat, too old, a woman, a man, had a degree,\u00a0 didn\u2019t have a degree, had too much experience, didn\u2019t have enough experience, (or whatever the reason why we think that person didn\u2019t make it.) <\/strong>It couldn\u2019t be that we just made a mistake and so did they.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a proven system for hiring. I\u2019m just not sure what it is this week.\u201d <\/strong>These \u201csystems\u201d seem to change with every management change.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more money we pay, the better candidate we can hire.\u201d<\/strong> We do get what we pay for. However, it takes more than just money to attract a good candidate.<\/p>\n \u201cHiring good people is one of our highest priorities. That\u2019s why it\u2019s taken six or seven weeks to get through the process.\u201d<\/strong> Do the paychecks show up this way too? What quality candidate is going to wait for this? Your actions are speaking so loudly that the candidate can\u2019t hear your words.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need young people because they\u2019re highly energetic.\u201d <\/strong>People who have energy have energy. It has nothing to do with their age.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.\u201d <\/strong>The question should be about the quality of the experience.\u00a0 Some people have one year of experience ten times and it doesn\u2019t mean their ten years of experience is better.<\/p>\n \u201cMBAs are better.\u201d <\/strong>American society has deemed that more education makes a person better. It simply isn\u2019t so.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would someone with an MBA, a Ph.D., and a graduate degree want this job? A person with that much education is overqualified.\u201d<\/strong> Unless it\u2019s a scientific or academic position, (and even then, the degree level has nothing to do with capabilities), it\u2019s hard to prove any degree causes someone to be underqualified or overqualified for any position. Let the candidate decide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to have a degree.\u201d<\/strong> Ditto to the above. There are some professions, such as accounting, engineering, and scientific research, where a degree indicates an inclination toward and proficiency in a particular profession. Companies often require a degree to avoid having to interview more candidates than they wish and to let someone else, i.e. the school, \u201ccertify\u201d the candidate. There are an amazing number of apprenticeships that companies can develop that can do the same thing.<\/p>\n \u201cNo online degrees. Only degrees from top-tier schools, and no foreign universities.\u201d <\/strong>Within a few years, every university in America will offer online degrees. Some studies show that online students are more diligent and hard-working than classroom students. The question should be: \u201cWhat did you learn?\u201d A degree from a foreign university like Oxford might also be ok!<\/p>\n \u201cPeople with high GPAs are smart.\u201d<\/strong> Maybe book smart, but that doesn\u2019t always translate into common sense and diligence.<\/p>\n Next Week:\u00a0<\/strong>the other fifteen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our company has experienced ten recessions and expansions in employment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,12,13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n