Hiring The Right People

That hardest and most important job for any manager is hiring the right people.  At our company, we are only interested in A or B players that could grow to be A Players.  If we get it right, we have a long term, successful employee.  If we get it wrong, we invite the employee that is a poor performer to work for one of our competitors.   Sometimes what is not said on a resume is more important that what is said.  Prospective employees that move around a lot are probably not a good bet.   Applicants that have gaps in employment that are not well explained probably should not be hired. 

So much time and money are spent training a new employee that getting it wrong not only sets the company back to square one searching for another candidate; but can also cost clients or customers.   Bad hires can do long term damage to a company, which is the reason new hire candidates should be well scrutinized.   In addition to validating the information on resumes, or job applications, our company does both drug testing and financial checks.  Obviously, we don't want to hire anyone addicted to drugs.  Neither do we want to hire someone that cannot manage their own finances because financial problems can be a distraction at work. 

While there is no way to know and it illegal to ask, many people live in dysfunctional families, which can impact job performance.  It may be the reason for frequent job changes, which would be evident in a resume.  Clearly, anyone that shows switching jobs every year or two probably has issues of some kind and is not a get bet. 

Finally, references are of minimal value because it is often illegal for a former employer to give out more than employment dates.  On the other hand, if we don't get a positive reference in glowing remarks as in, "we would hire the person back in a minute", it probably means that the employee is not a good performer and or that there were other problems at work that caused a voluntary, or involuntary termination.  Again, sometimes what is not said is more important than what is said. 

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