Hire The Person, Not The Resume

"... [get] the right people on the bus, the right people innegatively about management and other team
the right seats (and the wrong people off the bus) andmembers, pushes the limit on workplace rules, etc.
then [figure] out where to drive it." - Jim Collins - GoodAre they worth the trouble? Does the positive
To Greatcontribution from their "technical expert" status justify
"Hire the best staff you can find, develop them asthe damage they do to overall team performance? In
much as you can, and hand off everything youmost of the situations I've been involved in, the answer
possibly can to them." - John C. Maxwell - The 21is no.
Irrefutable Laws of LeadershipIn the above scenario, I created a situation where the
________person under consideration is truly a "technical expert".
Here's a simple tip - hire the person, not the resume.Among the best, technically, in their field. But, what
Confronting negative behaviors is an important skill forabout the more common situation? The situation
leaders to develop. But there's a step beyond that forwhere the person is good technically, but they're not
building a high performance team. You hire the rightnecessarily among the best in the industry. Now, how
person.does their behavior with other people balance against
The subject of hiring the right person comes uptheir technical skills? It only gets worse.
frequently in my work with various clients. It comes upI assume that you will only consider hiring people with
when they need to fill a position. It comes up whenat least the basic technical skills to do the job. So,
they realize they have the wrong person in a position.faced with a choice between two candidates:
Sometimes it comes up as a question in a training1) Great "attitude" and acceptable technical skills (for
session. Sometimes it comes up in a privatethis article, my definition of attitude includes work ethic,
conversation. But it almost always comes up.drive, initiative, ability to work with others, and other
The most common mistake that I see people make -"soft" or difficult to measure skills), and
one that I have made myself - is ranking the person's2) Outstanding technical skills and a poor attitude
technical skills ahead of their "soft" skills. I agree thatI choose number one. I find it easier to help people
technical skills are important. I don't want to hire a CPAstrengthen their technical skills than to improve their
who knows nothing about accounting, and I don't wantattitude.
to hire a nurse who knows nothing about nursing. So, IWhat if you have difficulty finding a person with the
am not suggesting that you ignore a person's resume. Iright attitude? I suggest you keep looking until you find
am suggesting that their experience and training (i.e. -them. It is better to work short-handed for a short time
their resume) serves primarily to qualify them for yourthan to work with a problem employee for a long time.
time investment to interview them. It gets them in theAs Jim Collins states in his landmark study Good To
door, but it shouldn't give them the job.Great - "When in doubt, don't hire - keep looking."
Consider this situation.Copyright 2005, Guy Harris
You hire a person with outstanding technical skills.You may use this article for electronic distribution if you
They know everything about the industry, the legalwill include all contact information with live links back to
environment, and many other technical aspects of theirthe author. Notification of use is not required, but I
position - but the rest of your staff cannot stand towould appreciate it. Please contact the author prior to
work with them. This "technical expert" demandsuse in printed media.
special attention, resists every change, speaks