About 85% of HR managers say they’ve hired people not suited to the work environment, says a recent survey. But one business leader says he has the three secrets to finding “the best people you’ve ever worked with.”
It appears that, in spite of advances in Internet job posting, computerized résumé tracking, and electronic résumé evaluation, we still aren’t that great at evaluating candidates. What should we do to become better at hiring the best people?
Technology pioneer Marc Andreesen, inventor of Netscape (blog.pmarca.com), recommends an approach that downplays things that others prize, like intelligence and education. Instead, he looks for people who possess three particular characteristics:
- Churchillian drive
- Eager curiosity and love for the field
- Strong ethical foundation
Churchillian Drive
Andreesen has an easy definition of “drive”—Winston Churchill’s speech after the World War II British defeat at Dunkirk:
“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end … We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender.”
That’s what you want, he says. Don’t just seek education or intelligence, go after drive.
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The first place he looks for drive is in the candidate’s eyes. Then he looks at the candidate’s background, specifically for what they have done. “Not been involved with, not been part of, not watched happen, but done,” he says. The thing that impresses him might not even be work-related. It could be a nonprofit started up on the side or development of an open-source programming site.
Curiosity
Next, Andreesen looks for curiosity. He calls it “love for what you do.” He believes that if you love what you do, you are inherently curious about it. You read about it, study it, and immerse yourself in it.
So, he says, sit your candidate down and ask about the pressing and interesting issues your profession is facing. The candidate should be able to discuss at least some with you. Because of the Internet, he notes, staying up to date is free.
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Ethics
The third criterion is ethics. If there’s a hint of ethical lapse, Andreesen says, avoid, avoid, avoid. One way he tests ethics is to ask increasingly esoteric questions about his field. At some point, the candidate won’t know the answer. If candidates bluff or lie, they’re history. But if they confess “I don’t know,” they’ll be straight with you when they get on the job, he declares.
How should you run your recruiting process? We’ll share more of Andreesen’s tips and introduce you to a comprehensive training solution in the next Advisor.
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