From IMC of St. Louis, http://www.imcstloius.org

Human Resources
You’ve Hired The Candidate From Hell
By Marilyn Lustgarten, SPHR
Jan 29, 2004, 16:37

YOU’VE HIRED THE CANDIDATE FROM HELL:

How not to make the same mistake twice!

Marilyn Lustgarten, SPHR

“We like what we see on your resume. Can you come in for an interview?” Typically, this marks the beginning of the employee selection process. Unfortunately, many times the interview is also the end of the process.

It’s been highly publicized that “embellished” resumes are getting otherwise undesirable candidates hired into positions that they ordinarily wouldn’t land. Too often, the organization finds out much too late that “Michelle is an inflexible dictator” or “Bob couldn’t finish a project on time to save his life!” The information presented in a resume, or an interview, for that matter should not be the only factor in the decision of who to hire. “I’m a pretty good judge of character,” claims the manager who believes he or she will know the right candidate halfway into the interview and then makes a job offer immediately based on that “gut feeling”. The truth is, interviewing alone is probably the worst way to determine a candidate’s acceptability. Ask yourself this: “Have I hired winners by using interviews alone? Have I hired losers using the same method? If the answer is yes to both questions, then you’ve no doubt realized that it’s a pretty unreliable predictor of a candidate’s future success.

Outplacement coaches, career counselors and self-help books have taught and encouraged prospective candidates to phrase answers to difficult questions so as not to raise red flags during an interview. For example, someone who was fired for being an inflexible dictator might be coached to answer the question “Why did you leave your last position?” by phrasing their response as “I had very high standards. I believe in doing the right thing at all times. Unfortunately, others in the organization felt differently, so I left.” Without checking it out further, who wouldn’t be thinking, “Wow, this is the kind of honest, ethical, quality-focused individual that is an answer to my prayers! I wonder how soon she can start!” You’ve just hired “Michelle”.

Not only will you find out the hard way that you’ve made a mistake in hiring “Michelle”, but that there will be other casualties. Productive employees will leave rather than tolerate a boss they can’t stand to work for. Now you have a problem with turnover and reduced productivity that you didn’t have before.

A company that is truly committed to hiring top talent (individuals who are highly qualified and suitably matched for the company’s culture and business philosophy) and the development of the organization, will consistently - in good times and in bad - use a comprehensive employee selection process. Here is my prescription for success:

Start by having concise, accurate job descriptions that include critical skills and behavioral competencies. For example, if reliability, flexibility, speaking effectively in public, initiating improvement or taking risks are as important as a certain degree or related experience then be specific about it on the job description.

Use a marketing approach to identify the candidates you are seeking. If you’re still just putting an ad in the local Sunday paper, you need to improve your method of sourcing candidates.

Pre-screen candidates for basic qualifications against those listed on the job description. I recommend calling the candidates in addition to what has been provided on the resume and application. What they say and how they say it over the phone can advance or eliminate someone from your candidate list.

Narrow down the candidates based on the closest successful preliminary matches. Invite only those individuals for an interview.

Use pre-scripted interview questions so all candidates can be evaluated fairly based on their responses to the same questions. Also, ensure only managers trained to do so are interviewing candidates. The interview stage should move quickly. Candidates get frustrated and may accept other jobs if there are unnecessary delays.

Use validated job-related assessments that help determine the skills and suitability of your top candidates for the job. The results of a good personality test, when used effectively, should have eliminated “Michelle” from further serious consideration, even though she did very well on the initial interview.

Perform background checks to confirm what you’ve learned from the candidate. This includes checking references, verifying current and former employment (which is NOT the same as checking references), criminal records, degrees and other credentials, as appropriate (or required by law).

Post-offer drug testing is highly recommended for all positions throughout the organization. (Yes, even top executives). This is critical in industries where the general public could be harmed by someone’s drug-induced poor judgement, such as health care, entertainment, hospitality, transportation, education, public and social services, food and pharmaceuticals to name only a few. Think about the implications and weigh the risks of not testing and its possible affects on your business.

If you use a consistent process for selecting candidates (external as well as internal) for every position within the organization, you will experience a dramatic increase in productivity, worker satisfaction, sales and profits. If you want the right person in every job, you shouldn’t cut corners.

Marilyn Lustgarten is a professional coach and speaker, and the President of The Star Makers Group, LLC, a management consulting firm that inspires stellar performance in individuals and organizations by helping them to solve problems that are barriers to achieving results. To learn more or to contact her, visit their website www.starmakersgroup.com.