How to Hire Exceptional Talent

In today’s world, thousands of executives feel that time is wasted on a search for talent. There are thousands of job fairs, college recruiters, and human resource personnel that troll for new minds and bodies while constantly making the same mistakes. Those mistakes include recruiting employees based on credentials instead of potential and experience instead of imagination.

Experts say that as economies in the western world struggle through tough economic times, the old methods of recruiting employees have to be thrown out. Quite a few experts argue that there are some candidates who are better than others by a factor of five. When you think about it, sports teams and technology investors are looking for someone who is exceptionally better than someone else. The same can be said for crack military units. For example. United States Special Forces look for candidates who have resilience, are cunning, and have problem solving skills.

When you look at a candidate’s resume, you will not see these qualities listed on there. Instead, the candidate should be able to display these qualities during an interview or another event. Ask yourself these questions when meeting with candidates; does the candidate break rules when he or she thinks there is no one watching? Does the candidate keep him or herself tidy during a long event?

One example of a company hiring a new chief executive based on a resume instead of intangibles involves the Albertsons grocery chain. Back in 2001, Albertsons hired Larry Johnston as its chief executive, who was successful at General Electric, but he could not make the grade at Albertsons. He had no experience running a grocery chain. As of 2006, the financial situation at Albertsons was beyond repair and the chain was split and sold.

The major mistake of the directors who hired Johnston was the fact that they looked at his success in one field and assumed he could continue that success in another industry. A hire should not be made because a person has been successful in the past. An employee is hired because a specific position, requiring specific skills, needs to be filled by the company.

One way to avoid the mistake made by Albertsons is to decode resumes that appear to be jagged, which includes strange career choices. Looking outside the company’s field for talent might also work to your company’s advantage when it comes to finding new employees.

Experts believe that it is better to compromise on a person’s experience rather than their character. There are some unseen virtues that potential employees have and they include self-reliance, efficiency, curiosity and resiliency. For the most part, thousands of recruiters will hire out of fear in order to make a safe choice. Recruiters should think about what can go right instead of what will go wrong when it comes to a hire.