Comments on: Waiting for the “Perfect” Candidate

By: Is HR in Your Middle? | Hiring Technical People

Is HR in Your Middle? | Hiring Technical People — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:56:14 +0000

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By: Thierry Thelliez

Thierry Thelliez — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:34:03 +0000

It sounds like thinking of a fixed scope project for a wicked problem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem). Maybe Agile ideas should be applied here. Iterate with a good enough candidate?

Also, like often in role playing, people play their part too seriously. There are many psychological experiments showing common people inflicting pain to others just hiding behind the role they are playing. In other words, do we have a perfect recruiter to start with? a perfect company? During the recruitment process people are holding candidates to standards they could not hold themselves.

By: Sameh

Sameh — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:48:10 +0000

There is normally non-objective criteria in selecting the candidate, apart from the objectivity as written in the job description, which is not written. Sometimes it is known but inappropriate to be written and sometimes it’s unknown.

If this non-objective criteria is unknown, then the hiring manager should shop around a bit till she finds what she wants.

I always believe that managers can’t tolerate a candidate who doesn’t meet this criteria.

IMHO

By: Hans Hartmann

Hans Hartmann — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:41:43 +0000

Hi,

Apart from what Mathew Heusser said (you will have to pay for perfection) I would add another view.
Fredmund Malik has described it in a book about management “Fuehren, Leisten Leben”.

http://www.amazon.de/F%C3%BChren-Leisten-Leben-Wirksames-Management/dp/3453196848
(Sorry, I have no idea whether it has been translated.)
In this book he compares a manager with a surgeon. Each one should be characterized by a long list of attributes, capabilities and properties. Unfortunately, more surgeons are needed that people that would fit perfectly. He claims that the same goes for managers.
Therefore the quest for the ideal candidate might run in the same problem. There might not be enough people that fit in the desired image.
For me perfection – apart from some inevitable social skills is composed of the following:
experience (unless I am really willing to educate my own people)
ability to learn fast (which is a compound property including a certain degree of intelligence)
Some basic knowledge about the field of interest (so (s)he can start right away to be productive)
And I would ask what (s)he wants to become in five years from now. (That type of longetivity might be only a touch of European flavour:)

cheers
Hans

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Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:17:34 +0000

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By: Matthew Heusser

Matthew Heusser — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:02:00 +0000

Great Points, Johanna!

One little thing I might add: If you find yourself really struggling for candidates, I mean really struggling, look at the job description again. You might be paying far too little.

The thing is, most of the best people — not all, but most — they already have a job they are not in danger of losing. So they expect a /premium/ over the current gig, better benefits, etc.

Yes, you might be able to find that ‘perfect’ candidate. Odds are, you’re going to pay for it too.