The Ultimate Hiring Criteria
How do we set hiring criteria? Should companies spell out their hiring criteria or leave the criteria unknown to the interviewer. Do most companies even have set criteria? Some companies assign their related departments to develop the hiring criteria for themselves, and it is sometimes left to the individual executives to interpret hiring parameters for themselves. Many interviewers are not experts, and this is evident by their questions' lack of direction. Without direction the interviewer will never have enough applicable information, or pertinent information, to make the right decision.

Setting hiring criteria is not easy. Every company desires high caliber employees, but how do they make their hiring decisions? Some companies are overwhelmed with too many hiring criteria: can their criteria be concrete ones? According to my notes from February 10, 1994, I set up hiring criteria to include leadership, responsibility, ambition and drive, energy, ability to handle pressure, teamwork, vision, depth of conviction and, of course, personal worth--is the employee a good person?
 

It was not, and still is not, easy to answer so many questions. By 1996 we had distilled our list down to three focused criteria: Drive to be successful on the highest level; Present and future talent; and Attitude towards people, their job and their environment. These three areas must be covered to the interviewer's satisfaction. Otherwise, the employer will have to wait until someone manages to demonstrate themselves in these areas.

Drive to be successful
In our experience, we have learned that one's drive to be successful can be an indicator of how far that person can go. Drive directs everything in life. People can be nearly anything if they have enough drive to be so. Many seemingly impossible tasks have been accomplished because of a strong drive to do so. Humans have been to the moon and moved mountains because they had the drive to do it.

If we take a look at successful people, we will see that their success stems from their foundation, which is drive. They are inspired to be somebody or do something. Becoming what you want to become is often a journey that begins as a little boy or girl. Having drive gives one the power to push people further. It takes drive to survive and triumph in the toughest situations.

During the past sixteen years, we have seen many of the most talented people fail simply because they didn't have enough drive to reach their destinations. We have also seen cases of people who survive even though they were perhaps not very talented. But their drive got them through and helped them develop the required talent to be successful. That is why when hiring staff, we check whether the individual's drive is strong and matched with our company's objective and culture.

Present and Future talent
Talent is one's capacity for accomplishment. We desire the most talented people so that we can grow faster than the industry. We need people suited for the long run. We should take every step to obtain as many qualified resumes as possible so that we have a larger pool to select from. The top successful applicants will fill a position.
However, some companies feel that they are inferior to larger, or better-known, companies and cannot attract a large number of qualified applicants. Likewise, sometimes prominent companies are misled by believing that they will get the most talented applicants simply because of their reputation.

We do not rank companies on a scale based on profits. We believe that, like people, companies are fundamentally equal and may be ranked more appropriately by the quality of life that they create for their employees. Large, stable, reputable companies are only that way because of their stockholders--it has nothing to do with their employees if they do not focus on bettering their employee's quality of life. The underlying question that should be addressed is this: What is the quality of life of each company's employees? We do not compare employees on an individual basis according to income, and this applies to the entire company as well. Everyone desires and deserves happiness no matter for which company that employee works. It is up to the company's Human Resource Policy to ensure the quality of life for its employees.

Back to Criteria…
Achievement is the benchmark in judging talent. There really should not be any other test but to test for talent. We believe a four-year grading system should be adequate. Higher grades show one's ability to understand, analyze and organize as well as one's level of responsibility. During four years of studying, students take, on average, more than 50 exams. This is enough to measure real talent as they were on their own and not tested only under a single specific circumstance. For those with work experience, their achievement in the workplace counts and is more important to us than total years of experience. Achievement can indicate how far a person may develop. Future development is also important. We are not looking simply at the talent they currently possess, but at their potential as well.

During an interview session, we try to let the applicants sell themselves. We give them a chance to describe themselves, and tell us why they should be chosen to work for our company. We do not believe in standardized tests or incoming exams because tests cannot judge what a candidate is able and willing to contribute to any significant degree. We want them to give us a picture of themselves as they see themselves because they should be more capable of this than anyone. Unfortunately, most applicants are not prepared for such questions. It takes time to develop an answer.

Attitudes toward people, job and environment
Attitude is the navigator of one's life. All of our decisions are based on the way we understand people, our job and our environment. Talent is important, but it is our attitude that controls the direction in which we place our talent. Sometimes talented people fail simply because they do not have a good attitude to keep them directed on the right course.

Talented people are easier to find than people with a good attitude. Sometime the most talented people are not the best suited for a position because they may have other issues that become evident in the workplace, such as satisfying their ego, among other things. Having an excellent attitude is a must, and it is often a good indicator of heart.

Sometimes we can find those with a good attitude by observing their hobbies and interests. But another important place for observation is that of their relationships with friends and coworkers. By hiring employees with a good attitude, a company will reduce conflict and unnecessary politics substantially.

When compared to drive and talent, attitude carries more weight. This is because a person of the right attitude will impress the interviewer--we welcome the person with whom we feel we can work.


 
 

 


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