Nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not strategies. – Lawrence Bossidy, former COO of G.E.
Have you ever failed a job interview before even meeting the interviewers? Turns out it’s not only possible but a part of the hiring culture at certain organizations.
John Matthews was excited to have landed a job interview with Zappos, one of the most successful shoe companies in the US. He had made it past the initial stages of the hiring process and had been invited to meet with the hiring manager in person in Las Vegas. As his flight landed in McCarran, he found a shuttle sent by Zappos, waiting to drive him to the interview.
John barely noticed the driver as he got on the bus, busy on his phone. The driver kept attempting to make conversation with him on the way but John was too preoccupied to pay any attention. When they arrived at their destination, John picked up his bags and left without a backward glance. He had to mentally prepare to talk to the entire upper management team at Zappos. He needed to review his notes and be ready.
John didn’t realize it at the time, but he had already failed the interview. Zappos would not be offering him a job that day. Why? Because, secretly, the interview had already begun. It had started when the shuttle greeted John at the airport, and it had ended, because of his ambivalence towards the shuttle driver. John had just failed Zappos’ Nice Guy test. By being dismissive to the shuttle driver, John had shown that he did not share the same values as Zappos and immediately disqualified himself.
The Nice Guy test is simply one among several unique tests that Zappos conducts before they hire a new employee. They, and other companies like them, believe that careful hiring is key to running a successful business. This article will examine three hiring philosophies that can help make sure that every hire you make is the right one.
Be Picky
Don’t be afraid to be picky with the candidates you invite for an interview. Sometimes, maintaining a high standard of performance requires that you take time to find people who are best suited to the job, rather than just the best available. Finding the best requires patience, but companies that choose to be cautious in the hiring process (and have a reputation for careful hiring) will also attract the best people. These are some of the strategies you can adopt to make your hiring process more discerning:
Have a small candidate pool: The hiring industry always talks about creating a wide funnel, with as many people as possible applying for a job, but only the best making it to the interview. Research at Harvard now suggests that it might be better to have a narrow funnel, with fewer applicants, but a larger percentage of those who might make it to the interview. By having a smaller, but more qualified candidate pool, the interview process becomes more cost-effective and you get a better selection of applicants to choose from.
Have high standards: Don’t feel like you have to compromise on your expectations. Especially, if the role is important to the company. It’s better, and cheaper, to disqualify mediocre candidates early despite an internal urgency to fill the position, rather than be forced to let go of them after they’ve been hired. One way of checking a candidate’s aptitude is through a test. Give candidates a task to perform, something central to the job description, and be exacting with the results.
Use AI: Artificial Intelligence and applicant tracking systems are quickly becoming an industry standard for recruitment. These recruitment tools can help hiring managers and recruiters sift through large amounts of application in a relatively small amount of time, making the process a lot more efficient. They can also be programmed to weed out less-qualified candidates and rank the best applications for consideration.
Amazon Bar Raisers
Amazon has long had a policy of choosing their hires carefully. In the words of their former CEO, Jeff Bezos,
“I’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person.”
Their hiring process is rooted in the company’s 14 Leadership Principles, requiring them to hire employees who raise the bar with every performance and expect relentlessly high standards (that are described, in the company’s own literature, as unreasonably hig