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How Employers Choose From Among Many Great Candidates

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Thank you for the reflections, Alison.
They are helpful in showing the importance of the prospective candidate attune to the particulars of the culture of the company for which he is trying.

Dennis of AL 5:03PM November 23, 2011

If you have three great candidates, and each has additional talent that can further assist you in making a hiring decision, which would you hire, the Unicyclist, the Calligrapher, or the Breakdancer?

ACForce of NY 2:11PM May 31, 2010

I once spoke to a hiring manager who saw 2 candidates of equal qualification. He went with Person B. Why? He said, "Person B knew how to B.S. better. We needed someone who knew his stuff and could fluff it up a bit."
I then spoke to another hiring manager in a similar situation. He went with Person A. Why? He said, "Person A was short and to the point."
What is one reality of hiring? Many people tend to hire in their own image. The corporate Web site may say a lot about valuing input from everybody. Yet if you think about it, seeking employment has as its root your ability to conform.
Hiring is not at all systematic, especially when you observe that so few managers ever get any training in hiring. Many hiring managers get to that post by being the best at something. So they wrongly believe if getting to where they were was because of who they are, they must hire clones.
Being known as an independent thinker can brand you as "difficult to manage."

Greg of CA 9:06PM September 22, 2009

Sorry. Should have stuffed all these additional add-ons onto the first post, but I'm hogging a third comment section to mention one more interesting book, here.
"First, Break All the Rules" by Buckingham (of Gallup Organization fame).
It tells about how "great managers" select their team players.
Interesting insights. Might be a good read for both managers and employees alike.
The main point is to A. select for talent, not necessarily skills, as skills can be learned, but talent comes naturally, and B. if you have "disengaged" employees, replace them with engaged employees ASAP (read the book for the reasoning behind that one).
It's a very good read.

Angie Koutrotsios of IL 8:59PM September 21, 2009

Got any centenarians in your organization?
http://www.okicent.org/
The Boomers seem like babies to these Okinawan elders!

Angie Koutrotsios of IL 10:24PM September 20, 2009

One of the most age-diverse places I worked in was at an old job handling medical claims. I specifically recall a very well-liked HR manager (very popular with staff) commenting on how he intentionally tried to get a diversity of age types in the office.
Think about it. If you want people to feel that they can connect with others in the workplace, you need a natural mix of age ranges so that people can find co-workers in the same cohort, to relate to, while also having younger folks around as well. A homogenized workplace, where everyone is fresh out of college, can be a limitation.
It does seem that when some corporations speak of the benefits of "diversity," they need to consider age ranges, as well.
For an interesting look at some really old and vibrant people, read the book "The Okinawa Program" by Willcox, Willcox, and Suzuki. It is just amazing how healthy and alert the elders of the island of Okinawa, Japan are. This book, which was based on a 25 year longitudinal study, tells some amazing stories.
America needs to respect age diversity, because in other nations, maturity is revered and respected.
The West could learn a lot from the East Asians, be it about health, or cognitive ability later in life, or in relation to work.

Angie Koutrotsios of IL 10:21PM September 20, 2009

I am a Gen-Xer who has been privileged to work with several talented and generous Boomers, who took me under their wing and shared their knowledge and experience with me and I am a better person, employee and manager for it. I am shocked by the amount of inter-generational bias I see and hear on the web and from some of my own staff, half of whom are so-called Gen-Y (under 30). It makes sense to me that a healthy workplace is populated by workers from all generations. Older workers bring a wealth of experience and insight; younger workers bring energy, enthusiasm and excitement. This can be a healthy synergy if workers respect what each generation brings to the workplace and the customers you serve. I would hope that employers and those in charge of hiring would recognize the intrinsic value of balancing the workforce with both youthful and more mature workers.

Manda 2:42PM September 15, 2009

I can't help but agree with the previous posts on "office culture". I've been trying to get my foot into the door of the company in non-profit sector and one employee confined that "evidently" being of a certain age, the manager primarily hires people of 50+. Indeed, they all look your mother figure types. I find it a sad irony that looking young (I'm 40) plays against me this time!

N 1:08PM September 15, 2009

What, No Job?? They are hiring Nurses from outside the country. It only takes a year to get a Nursing degree.Check out http://bit.ly/HdrTn

albertparsons of CA 6:34AM September 15, 2009

Take a look at this report about Boomer age folks and layoffs...
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20090308_Where_layoffs_hit_hardest_is_hard_to_gauge.html
It may be that some are laying off people they perceive to be...well...less youthful and healthy, to be honest, even though that's not necessarily the case (many older folks are tech-savvy, open to new ideas, and are quite healthy).
If there's any truth to the theory, though, many older workers are having the possible age discrimination masked by the poor economy. If anyone is going to make cuts to lay off those they "perceive" (whether correctly or incorrectly) as less youthful, healthy and innovative, it's going to occur during a time when that intent can be masked as an overall layoff strategy in rougher economic times.
Also, the recent election showed that many older Boomer types went for the older candidates in the primaries (Mrs. Clinton got a lot of Boomer support, while Gen-X and Gen-Y went for Obama). After the primaries, older voters were split between both front-runners (McCain and Obama), but the number of older voters who initially supporter Boomer Clinton was noteworthy. This might suggest to employers that younger employees are healthier as well as more open to change, something that companies will need to do in order to survive (adapt to the changing economic and political landscape).
It's not entirely fair, but this could be an issue for Boomers seeking work.
They need to behave as if they are much more youthful, culturally, in order to not trigger the bias button of the hiring manager.
As for those who assume potential health insurance costs, due to increased use of benefits, there's nothing anyone can do to circumvent that.
Perhaps employer-sponsored health insurance is part of the problem.
People should be able to buy their own coverage at affordable rates. Then, employers have nothing to worry about, except whether or not the potential hires are going to be able to show up for work in good health.
Maybe put sports-related activities in the cover letter as a tip-off that one is active and alert?
Just an idea.
As a Gen-Xer, who knows if you'll appreciate the tips from younger workers when you're older, right?
Whatever helps.

Angie Koutrotsios of IL 8:14PM September 14, 2009