How I Hire Series: Wisdom from 80 Thought Leaders

LinkedIn recently released a series of “How I Hire” articles that is well worth the time of any HR / recruiting professional.

It’s a goldmine of information that includes over 80 perspectives from many well-known business figures (ranging from CEOs and entrepreneurs to thought leaders, recruitment experts and consultants).

The series gives very revealing insight into what some of the most influential minds in the professional world focus on in their interview process. And while there are many similarities, there are also striking differences.

For example, some leaders advise to go with your gut feeling about a candidate, while others think this notion can be very misleading and provide some costly examples. Some interviewers make up their minds within a few minutes of a single meeting, while others may take weeks. Some love to ask “curve ball” questions while others think these are a complete joke and say you should focus on re-creating job simulations that reflect actual work projects.

You may find yourself agreeing with some perspectives, while arguing fervently against others in the comment section, but probably the key take away is that there’s no single best way to hire — just different perspectives that work for different people in different situations.

Hiring for personality is a key common theme across many of the articles. This is the focal point of perhaps the biggest name in the list, Richard Branson. Here’s what he had to say about hiring: 

Richard Branson (How I Hire: Focus on Personality)

“There is nothing more important for a business than hiring the right team. If you get the perfect mix of people working for your company, you have a far greater chance of success. The first thing to look for when searching for a great employee is somebody with a personality that fits with your company culture. Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to train people on their personality.” ... Read Full Article. 

This ties directly into the "Hire for Attitude, Train for Skills" mentality, which we have previously blogged about here (i.e. hire people for who they are first; what they know second).

Attitude is made up of many factors, one of which is behaviour, another is our personal values, another is our level of emotional intelligence. With the TTI Success Insights Suite of Tools you can pinpoint the specific list of talents that are required for success in any role.

Learn More About How to Assess the Right Personality.