How To Use A Resume To Select Better People
Posted on February 28, 2008 - Filed Under Business
In a discussion with a client about his need to find a replacement for a key person, we got into the subject of resumes.
In a matter of minutes I concluded that he really didn’t make the best use of that document. I suggested that he refocus on what he wanted from the person who would take on the responsibilities and what the individual would have to work with. I was firm in my position and offered the following as an example of how to proceed.
I asked him to put himself in the position of – President of the United States - looking to fill cabinet positions.
What would those under consideration have to work with?
The new cabinet member would not be able to bring in their own staff. The people in place are government employees, bureaucrats secure in their positions. There would be no opportunity to provide the typical motivators; no bonus, stock options, raises, or pieces of equity for superior performance. The cabinet assignment was short term – maybe four years, with a steep learning curve. No one could be really prepared for the job. Success was in every sense of the words, entirely dependent on the talents of those in place.
What would the President be looking for from the man or woman who filled the cabinet position?
The President would want accurate, timely, and as complete information as possible on issues and questions that needed decisions which would have far reaching and long term implications. The information would usually have to be provided on short notice and often times it would be impossible to determine its real worth until sometime much later.
A tough job to be sure.
To accomplish this, the new cabinet member would have to be able to make good judgments about his staff; who was capable and could be trusted, who was a clear and logical thinker, and who surrounded themselves with a good support team. They would also have to be able to make decisions with less than complete information and they had to provide fast answers when questions needed to be decided.
The cabinet person would have to motivate through people skills not be intimidation or promises for the future. They would have to get the best out of their people without either a carrot or a stick. And failure to effectively motivate could set up a situation where less than the best information would be provided. Does the term “sandbagging” send a chill down your back?
Who can best succeed as a cabinet member?
A hard charging former CEO who has led multi billion dollar corporations to ever increasing sales and profits? Maybe. How does the President find out?
By using the resume the President should ask about the people who worked with the candidate in the various corporations he or she ran.
“Who was your second here? And here? And here? Where are they now?
“In all your years of running these corporations, how many of your reports quit? Why? How many did you fire? Why? How many are still with you, growing as you grew?
“How do you motivate; mentor? “ These are just some of the questions; there are others which will point out how he or she produced the results on the resume.
Resumes are great predictors of future behavior. Not only do they state what the candidate did and therefore likely to do again, but through skillful inquiry, they can reveal the circumstances under which the results were produced. To produce similar results the same or nearly the same conditions must be present in the new situation. Change the conditions, the circumstances, the objectives and that very successful person may have great difficulty figuring out how to proceed. In fact the results could be disastrous.
How easy would it be for the CEO of a free wheeling, high-tech company to take over the responsibilities for an all volunteer non-profit.
To look ahead successfully, one must look back. But in the looking back process one must know what to look for.
Art Consoli held eight corporate positions with Johnson & Johnson before starting his first business. He went on to build over twenty businesses from patents or ideas or from businesses others couldn’t make successful. These ranged from starting a veterinarian drug company to taking over a steel fabricating company to developing the first manufactured home subdivision to qualify for every private and government assisted mortgage program in Arizona. He also did ten workouts for lenders and owners; the last was a $30 million, 300 employee, precision parts manufacturing plant that made parts for the auto industry. Consoli’s unique background and skills allow him to speak and write about how someone with limited experience can do a self-evaluation which will let him decide which business opportunity is best, how to evaluate opportunities and gain control over the one which offers the greatest potential and then manage that business to success. Readers of his book
The author can be reached at http://www.businessstrategyartconsoli.com
Tags: Business strategy, hiring employees, management, resumes
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