Voodoo hiring methodology

Voodoo Hiring Methodology

Many years ago at a job interview I was asked, if I were a car, what sort of car would I be? I just told the guy what he wanted to hear. A V8 supercar!

Another time, a hiring manager asked me to choose what shape I liked best, a circle, a square, a triangle, or a squiggly line? A triangle of course!

I call this “voodoo hiring methodology.” It’s where the hiring manager plays amateur psychologist and deploys tools with questionable predictive power as part of their hiring process.

Voodoo hiring managers like to judge whether a candidate offers to take the coffee cup to the kitchen after a job interview. They ask trick questions like, if you were an animal, what sort of animal would you be?

Gimmicks like this might amuse you, but they have poor predictive power when it comes to selecting A-Player employees. Pop psychology might be fun at social events, but this kind of voodoo has no place in a serious hiring process. Clever candidates can fake the answers to match what they think the job requires.

Likewise, behavioral profiling assessments: Myers Briggs, DISC, The Big 5, Predictive Index, Working Genius, Enneagram, Strengthsfinder, Kolbe, et al.

I’ve heard people disparage these profiling assessments as “astrology for business leaders.” I’m not that cruel. But in my experience, this is another area where I have seen clever candidates fake their answers to match what they think the job requires.

Even IQ tests. People can practice IQ tests and get better scores. It doesn’t mean they grew their intelligence, it just means they got better at taking the tests. I’m serious. I’ve done it myself.

Profiling assessments can spark some interesting conversations about people’s behaviors, and you might use them to supplement your hiring process, but I caution against putting too much faith in these assessments.

In my experience, clever candidates can game the system. Especially job hopping B-Players who get a lot of practice at taking these asssessments, because they go through a recruitment process every 18-24 months.

Use profiling assessments to supplement your hiring process if you wish, but be aware of their risks and limitations. I prefer to put more emphasis on evidence of past success in a relevant role, a robust series of structured interviews, and thorough reference checks with past managers.

You make the hiring decision, and you own the outcome of your decision. So take care to conduct proper due diligence, and don’t hide behind a profiling assessment’s algorithm.

One of my clients is currently recruiting for a new sales manager. I spent a decent chunk of my life in sales management roles and I’m happy to be a sounding board.

He asked about the predictive power of sales assessments, e.g. from the likes of Objective Management Group. I have used and taken these sales aptitude tests in the past, but to me, they are just another filter.

A robust recruitment process will filter out the B-Players. By the time you whittle your applicants down to 3 final candidates, they should all possess the necessary skills and behavioral attributes to do the job. They can back up their past performance with evidence. They “check all the boxes” in your profiling assessment tool. They can produce 3 past managers who gush with praise about the candidate’s abilities, and would rehire them without reservation.

But to me, these things are just table stakes. This is just their ticket to the finals.

This is where I like to invoke my 18 month rule. Especially when hiring managers. Think about where you want your team to be in 18 months’ time in terms of team size, sophistication, and level of performance.

Where possible, hire someone who has already operated at that level. Ideally, someone who has taken a team on that growth journey from where you are now, up to the next level of performance.

The 18 Month Rule means hiring someone who has climbed that mountain before. They know how to navigate the tricky parts of that climb and can pull your team up to the next level.

But a word of warning! Be wary of hiring someone from a very large “big brand name” enterprise company who had the luxury of a sophisticated support infrastructure around them and never learned how to design and build that structure themselves.

A better hiring fit would be someone who built a team up from the same stage you are at right now, and can replicate the growth journey you want to achieve over the next 18 months.

This is just one of the many personal lessons I share in my training course for managers, “Hiring A-Players“.

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Until next time…
Stephen