Ent 600 Week 5 Blog Post
“Skills you can not Teach”
When faced with hiring decisions, the resume is the first place many hiring managers turn. It provides much of the basic information that a prospective employee requires. Their educational background and relevant work experience are all important to a hiring manager and are available on any resume. But there are qualities that a person could posses that are invaluable to a business that a candidate could posses. Life experiences that create quality character are one example. In “How to Hire A-Players,” Eric Horrenkolhl discusses hiring waitresses that are single mothers. People that have gone through tremendous life challenges could have a work ethic like no other.
In my previous personal experience as the manager of a retail paint store, I can say that it far better to wait to find the right person than hiring the first person that comes through with a half way decent resume. There have been many hiring managers that have made a rash decision at hiring someone just to fill a position. Although there might be pressure to hire as soon as possible because there is work to be done, having the right employee in place saves time in the long run.
Hiring the right person for the job comes down to understanding your company’s core values. Asking the candidate for examples of experiences that relate to the company’s core value will identify skills that you cannot teach. Hiring individuals with the kind of skills that cannot be taught saves your company time and money. It is loosely relatable the statement Eric Herrenkohl states in “How to Hire A-Players.” In Chapter 1, he implores the reader to “Stop trying to turn c-players into a-players.” I don’t believe the other is saying that he does not believe in coaching employees. As well all know, a great coach is paramount to any winning team. I believe the author is saying that is far easier to hire the candidate with the necessary basic skills and values than teach them once they are hired. It is near impossible with the unteachable skills. Caring about the quality of your work and passion certainly are not going to be learned in a conference room.
The pharmaceutical company Merck has several core values. One of the core values is related to diversity and teamwork. “Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity, and teamwork of our employees.” This value is stated on their website. Knowing this information can help a recruiter to decide on interview questions. For example, a hiring manager or recruiter might be interested in hearing about a time the candidate worked on a complicated project in a team environment. Integrity is also a value in Merck. Another example of an interview question might be “tell me an example of an ethical dilemma you encountered and how did you handle it?”
Although it is difficult to identify skills that you cannot teach, it is well worth the extra effort to find that person. Passion, commitment, teamwork, and integrity are all qualities that you cannot teach. These qualities are just a few of many. Finding the right person with the intangible skills can make a difference for your life and your customers. It will allow you, as a manager, to pursue other avenues to grow the business instead of extra supervision and coaching. You will also be able to relax properly when you are not on the job because you will not be worried about the business.
References:
How to Hire A-Players, Eric Herrenkohl, 2012
Master of Entrepreneurship Website for Mike Weimar 