Gil Schwartz, "6 people you should never hire"

Gil Schwartz “6 People You Should Never Hire” (Magazine article, in May, 2007 Mens Health)

Although usually, I wouldn’t summarize an article like this, I think it contained some interesting nuggets of information, and perhaps most of all, reminders of what happens when the “wrong” person joins a group. It can make the group stronger, or it can destroy the group, but it almost always is a negative experience.

The article discusses how to recognize the “nagging feeling of uncertainty” when you have a candidate/applicant who seems perfect, but there is something subconsciously trying to tell you this person could be a real problem. Without mentioning any names, places or positions, I know the feeling and I know the disaster when the “wrong” person is hired-qualified, but not right.

The author (Gil Schwartz) is absolutely right when he notes that “how much better not to hire the person in the first place!”.

We recently started ability/behavioral testing prior to hiring someone just to make sure we face possible problems. Obviously testing isn’t perfect, but at least we are aware of tendencies before a person starts.

I normally don’t read this magazine but the article was given to me by a person whose input I respect and so I took time to study the article.

He mentions six “types” and how to avoid hiring them. For the record, they are “the loafer”, “the weasel”, “the bridegroom”, the “psycho killer”, the “replicant” and “the future CEO”. The category descriptions are rather vague to me and don’t seem to really apply in my experience (more oriented to large private organizations), so I won’t amplify on that.

For my own record, I wanted to note recommended Interview Questions:

1. “When were you exhilarated about your work”. (This helps find a person whose passions align with job duties.)

2. “What major mistake from your past do you not regret?”. (Helps identify employees who recognize the value of learning from mistakes and avoid people who try to never make mistakes to the point of inaction.)

3. “What’s your favorite movie”. (Helps measure the clarity of though process. I’m not sure about this one!)

4. “What’s a misconception people have about you?” (Determine if the applicant has an indication of how she comes across to other people. As a follow up question ask “how do you manage your image”. Again, this appears to be a pop psychology question like # 3 that I probably wouldn’t use, but I’m likely to use some variant of it.

5. “In 5 years, how will you justify having taken this job?”. (Determine if job fits into the applicants master plan for their career. Probably more valuable as an indication if the applicant takes the job as a career move or just as a job.