Hire the Intangibles
“No matter what position, department or level—always hire the intangibles.”
Character first, always.
Written By: Deanna Dolecki, President
People often comment that I have a real eye for finding talent. I say thank you and dismiss it but, occasionally, step back and take stock of all the amazing people I’ve worked with over the years. We’ve always had very strong teams. Sure, we get an occasional weak link or post-hire disappointment but for the most part—we hire rock stars.
This is not by accident. Hiring people is hard. Applicants know the right and wrong things to say and there are so many articles, books and resources available to help train for the interview. However, I don’t interview the normal way. You can’t “train” for mine.
About 15 years ago I interviewed for a new job—I was applying for a mid-level account manager position at a marketing company. They told me I’d be meeting with four different people, starting with the President of the company—we will call him “Prez”. Prez interviewed me for over two hours. It was shocking the president took that much time to interview a potential mid-level account manager. He went, year by year, throughout my life—going back as far as grade school. I was fascinated. I loved it. While it was certainly intimidating, I couldn’t stop trying to figure out what he was getting at—what he was trying to learn. Little did he know, the office walls were thin and I heard him leave our interview, walk into the hiring manager’s office and say, “hire her”. I clearly did something right during those two hours. Over the years, Prez took me under his recruiting wing and gave me the chance to sit in on multiple interviews. We would talk through the strengths, weaknesses, and watch outs. That experience really helped shape my approach to new hires.
My belief: no matter what position, department or level—always hire the intangibles.
If someone is smart, decisive, sets a high bar for themselves and wants to work hard, you can teach them anything. Yes, it’s great if you find someone that has direct experience for the position you are hiring—but if they aren’t a hard worker, dedicated employee, or can effectively make smart decisions —they won’t grow. And if your people aren’t growing and developing, your company isn’t getting stronger. Everyone on a team matters. Which is why Prez spent two hours interviewing me.
When I’m meeting someone for the first time – I barely reference their resume. Don’t get me wrong —I look at it beforehand, but we don’t spend the first meeting going through the resume. Instead, the goal is to learn how they got started and what their path has been since. Why they made the decisions they made throughout their career. By choice? By chance? By someone else’s doing? You would be surprised how many people “fall” into jobs over and over without any real initiative or strategy behind their choices. Just letting someone talk about their early years and experience (which should be the easiest thing to talk about right? It’s your life!) is very telling. If you can’t articulate your life, and if you don’t exude some passion, it’s very telling. In that first conversation, I don’t care if you are detail oriented or organized—and honestly, who is ever going to say that they aren’t? I want to know what motivates you, and will you work smart and hard for our company. Are you looking for a career or just looking for a job? There is huge difference between the two.
And another great thing that Prez taught me—be direct. Just ask. Be professional and considerate about it but if you have any questions or hesitations, talk to the candidate about them. You can tell a lot by how someone reacts to a direct question or initial feedback. There have been many times my first opinion was wrong. I’ll never forget hiring one of the very best direct reports I’ve ever had. I almost didn’t hire him because I questioned whether he was outgoing enough to connect with our sales team. He seemed a bit stuffy and serious during the interview, and being able to build relationships, earn respect and spend time socially with our sales organization was an important part of the role. Prez advised that I have him back into the office, and just talk to him about it. See what he says. See how he reacts. Very glad that I did. He was, understandably, on interview behavior but boy, did that guy have some stories! And after working with him for years, he may have been one of the wildest of them all.
Interviewing is tricky but I’ve found a unique process that effectively gets at who the person is, how they make decisions, why they are working and can, at times, throw people off. You will find your own style but don’t be afraid to buck the ordinary to ensure the individual you bring into your company complements your team, has strong character, and will work hard and genuinely care about the business. Those are the intangibles you can’t teach someone.
Experience is great—and in many roles, is critical—but hire their character first.