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The Experience Trap

http://marionjensen.com/2007/11 by | Dec 18, 2013 | Employee Hiring, Hiring Managers, Interview Process, Selecting Good Candidates, Uncategorized

ungenerously BearTrap_01.jpga203455b-ef09-4c5a-be36-5fe7351fd23fLargeEvery client that I begin to work with wants a certain level of experience for the position that they want filled. They say, “Beth, they have to have 5 years experience. Not negotiable.” The problem with experience is that it is a mixed bag. According to the book Talent is Overrated, “…people with lots of experience were no better at their jobs than those with very little experience.” Are you shocked? The book goes on to say, “Researchers from the INSEAD business school in France and the US Naval Postgraduate School call the phenomenon ‘the experience trap’”. Their key finding is that while companies typically value experienced managers, rigorous study shows that, on average, ‘managers with experience did not produce high caliber results’”. 

So, if experience does not make for a good hire, what does? Basically, you are looking for 3 traits in good people: 

  1. Can they handle conflict resolution? Whether there is conflict with the boss or conflict with a team member, how does this person resolve it? Basically, if your employee needs to you to solve their problems for them, then that is what you will spend your time doing. It is called management. 
  2. Can they do the job? This sounds like experience, right? It is not. It is more about basic communication and team work. Do they want to help the customer? Do they take ownership of their work? Do they ask for help when they need it? These are the qualities of the employee who is self sufficient and motivated to get the job done. 
  3. Do they want the job? Are they passionate about the work they do? If so, then they do not mind the occasional drudgery of the job. They love to solve the problems of the position and motivates them to innovate. 

If you want to hire good people, do not get caught in the experience trap. Find the person who can solve conflict, has basic customer service skills and the passion for the job, then train, train, train. In the end you will then have to manage less. You will be so glad that you did!

Warm, Gooey, Chocolate Chip Cookies

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My daughter, Katy, and I love to make cookies, especially when it is snowing outside and we have a process that we go through to make them. Melt the butter, sneak a few chocolate chips. Add the sugar and eggs, sneak a few chocolate chips. Add vanilla, baking soda, flour, etc. and of course, sneak a few chips. Then, you stir it all together to get the dough, which, you must taste! Sing a little to the song on the radio, do a little dance, put the dough on the pan, and put it in the oven. Dance a little more, try another pinch of dough until the cookies come out of the oven and eat one while it is really hot. It melts all over your hands and face! Giggle some more while you pour a much-needed glass of milk and voila! In addition to feeling a tad sick, you have made cookies and memories all in one day!

One time, however, we put baking powder in the dough instead of baking soda and it was a disaster! Another time, we forgot the eggs; and yet another time, we pulled the cookies out of the oven too late and they were burnt. If you miss a necessary step in baking, you will ruin the final cookie outcome.

The experience is the same when you are trying to hire the right person. There is a recipe for finding the right fit called the 7 Steps to Finding Great Employees:     1) Create your Ideal Candidate in your mind 2) Write the job description 3) Write the job ad 4) Review resumes and schedule candidates 5) First Interview 6) Second Interview and 7) Third Interview.  When you miss one of these steps, it is like you burnt your beloved chocolate chip cookies… gut wrenching!

Cultivating your staff begins with hiring the best and you can’t do that if you leave out a part of the recipe. So pay attention, focus and be patient when hiring your next employee. Also, don’t forget to wipe the chocolate off your chin! 

Performance Predictions by Olympians

Most people who viewed the Olympics experienced some surprises regarding performances from our athletes. If you actually listened to the athletes talk about their goals, you may have had much fewer surprises.

Danell Leyva: “I want to win a medal.” So, he did. Bronze

John Orazco: “I just want to go to the Olympics.” So he did. He was a Top 10 finisher.

Gabby Douglas: “I want to make history.” So she did. She is the first African American Woman to win a gold medal in Gymnastics. She won 2.

In interviewing candidates, you can predict the success of your new hire by listening to their language around their goals in an interview. Writing down exactly what your candidate has to say can prevent performance surprises later down the road and lead your team to gold rated success!

The Lowest Common Denominator

I was meeting with a new client to discuss the possibility of hiring their “right hand” person. As I do with every client, I asked her to dream big. “If you could have any person that you wanted for this job, who would they be and what would they know?” Do you know what she said?  “I want them to be punctual.”

When you make a bad hire, you say to yourself, “Well, I can work with this employee if only they do xyz.” Then, xyz doesn’t happen. Then, you say to yourself, “If only they will do abc, then I can work with that.” Of course, abc isn’t going to happen either. The next thing you know, you are just wishing for someone to be punctual.

So, what if you changed the word punctual to “Committed”? If someone is committed to the job and committed to the company, then they will be punctual.

I dare you to dream big around your next hiring decision. Think roses and rainbows, to infinity and beyond. Conduct effective interviews and you will find your dream employee!

Spell Check is Not Enough!

Yesterday, I was screening applicants for a position that requires a high level of attention to detail. Not long into the search, I received a beautifully formatted resume.  The candidate had all of the skills that we wanted in a new employee! I opened the cover letter to learn more about this bright prospect. The opening sentence said “I am responding to your add…”

The question then becomes do I overlook one small spelling error that spell check would not have caught or do I pass up this well qualified individual for a simple mistake. When screening for a position that will require analysis and detailed reporting, one small mistake could cost a company thousands. The error to proof read made by this candidate stands out so magnificently that I had to pass them up.

So much of pre-screening can be subjective. When making the final call, compare the resume to all required skills, not just the technical set listed on the resume. I would definitely not “add” this individual to the team.