You're Hired!

Kathy Sierra is on a tear with her last few posts. I was particularly taken by her thoughts on the implicit lip-service given to the great god human capital, because from my perspective, what ever role you're trying to fill, you're hiring a marketer for your company.

This was especially apposite as I had, by chance, just seen the penultimate episode of The Apprentice in which the final four were whittled down to two by means of reports from three recruiting “experts” who "interviewed” each contestant for about fifteen minutes. The contrast between some of their comments and those of people who had watched the contestants work (if telegenic tasks can be ascribed that significance) for the past ten weeks was particularly resonant.

Perhaps, it was merely a case of opening up old wounds; reminding me of my distaste for the whole hiring process and inane gambits like “walk me through your resume” that are destined surely to hire people who are good at self-promotion and nothing else. But I remain convinced that hiring should never be outsourced because outsiders cannot know your business – they can merely apply generalised benchmarks to the candidates and ultimately that will just lead to a cloned workforce.

The best view you'll get of someone’s fit with you and potential to move your business forward is not to chat about their past and what they like, but to discuss your industry and its future with them. And, as Kathy reminds us, do so in the hope of having your worldview challenged and your passion reinvigorated.

Rather than go over their resume, a document that served to get them through the door and with which you should already be fully familiar, look to the future and how they’ll fill the as yet unwritten pages of that document.