Aside from a few obvious technical and vocational roles, there are very few positions in most organizations that absolutely “Must Have” someone who has held the identical role in the same industry with the same job.
Nonetheless, the use of “Must Have” remains a staple in recruiting and hiring. It’s too bad, because over-reliance on “Must Have” can lead to a chronic case of mediocrity or worse, a terminal case of recycled bad ideas from industry participants.
Who Fits this Description?
Recently, a friend sent me a series of executive position descriptions he was considering responding to. His excellent qualifications exceeded the scale and scope of the roles, but didn’t quite match the exact requirements. The “Must Have” lists were long and loud, and just as they caused my colleague to pause, they are certain to frighten away most talented people who have not lived a life that precisely matched this nearly impossible-to-replicate list of required experiences.
While I get the need for some “Must Haves”…I don’t want a mechanic setting my son’s broken arm, and no one wants a real estate broker advising them on estate planning, there’s a point when the list turns from essential to ridiculous.
Now as a bit of truth in advertising, I’ve made a career out of scouting and engaging talent from everywhere but my competitors. I never had an urge to reinvent their same lousy practices or to recycle the people who have been busy changing badges but going to the same trade shows for years.
The excessive reliance on “Must Have” is particularly disturbing in an era when:
a. There’s so much remarkable talent available for hire.
And
b. Now more than ever, firms need to infuse established businesses with different ways of thinking and acting.
Measure Twice, Cut Once on Your “Must Haves”
The “Must Have” issues I am focusing on are for managerial or leadership positions where the keys to success are much more about critical thinking, leadership effectiveness, talent development and operating effectiveness, than they are about specialized industry experience.
“Do not apply unless you have X years working in Y industry.”
Great people with highly transferable and mature skill-sets are kept out of the game by an irrational belief that there’s something particularly special/unique/special about your industry and business.
Newsflash: your firm and your industry have the same general issues and challenges as every other firm and industry.
That’s crazy! We’re different. We’re unique.
No you’re not. You have the same challenges in your firm for creating winning strategies, engaging and keeping the right talent, operating effectively and responding to or acting upon global and industry forces. The variables change from sector to sector and firm to firm, but when you peel back the layers, the issues are the same.
It takes too long to bring people up to speed. We don’t have time .
When it comes to getting the best talent on your team, you always have time to help them learn an industry or marketplace. It’s much easier to teach someone an industry and market than it is to teach them how to think strategically, lead effectively and operate efficiently.
Having shifted industries four times in my life, I can tell you from experience that there is a learning curve, and once you power through that curve, the issues are eminently comprehensible. It doesn’t take a long career or a rocket scientist to understand industry forces, to plug in to customers, and to understand your firm’s “unique” position and value proposition.
A Few Dividends from Relaxing the Must-Haves in Your Hiring Decisions:
- You gain a broader pool of talent to draw from. Yes, this means more work for you. Take solace in the fact that it is the right work.
- The outsider offers a a fresh set of eyes with a broader base of knowledge on how problems have been solved and how customers in other worlds have been served. The observations and ideas can infuse a team and business with new life. (And yes, it will annoy those who are practitioners of the “That’s not how we do it here” religion.)
- You have an excuse to challenge conventional thinking. People with diverse experience aren’t burdened by the baggage of looking through the same narrow industry lenses for many years, and their presence provides an opportunity for you to tee up some “sacred cow” discussions in front of the barbecue.
- Professionals with a fresh view regularly ask annoyingly good questions, including: “Why do we do it this way?” Or my favorite, “What if… ?” followed by “Why not?”
- The effort you expend to help people learn and understand your business and market affords an opportunity for you to rethink issues and approaches. It’s always good to refresh your view and challenge your assumptions.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
The best ideas might be found far afield from where you’ve been working and watching. Whether they come from a different industry entirely or from a different part of the value chain, your best talent may be a non-traditional candidate who fails the “Must Have” test.
Relax the “Must Have” filters in the right places and take a broader look before you make your next hire. You might just be bringing in the individual who can help you rethink your business.
Art,
I agree with you. What’s really surprise, is that creativity and innovation are well known to come from people with completely different perspectives looking at a problem. “Must have” experience, by definition, prevents this very creativity and innovation from occurring.
However, the frequency of “must have” requirements appearing shouldn’t come as a surprise. Years ago, Warren Buffett identified the “institutional imperative” (http://bit.ly/m0tmCX). In this case, executives in peer companies mindlessly imitating each other.
Keep up the good work of reminding people to think and it’s great to see you blogging more frequently,
Andy
Andy, it’s always a good day when we communicate AND even more so when we agree! : ) Yes, the “Must Haves” don’t come as a surprise…just as a continuing disappointment. Love the Buffet link. Thanks!! -Art
Good piece Art. We just did a piece on the same subject with a different slant. There have been a few articles of late on the so called Great Jobs Mismatch. I think the problem is part what you elude to here – employers asking for more than they need and laziness of HR departments and hiring managers in defining exactly what they need. It seems epidemic.
http://hrnewsfeed.blogspot.com/2011/06/great-jobs-mismatch-or-just-bad-hiring.html
Jim, nice summation of some of the causes of this problem. Thanks for reading and sharing your take on it as well. Best, -Art
I just left a place that had this problem (among many). They don’t want to put in the effort to train people, and desparately want people who “fit in with the organization”. I was actually chastised on my review for not fitting in, and my review ended with my manager asking me, “how does it feel to have no one like you?” My real response is that I didn’t care; it should be about the job not popularity. They use 360 reviews, where anyone can rate you and that is taken into account in your review. I had never worked anywhere that used those before. People who don’t fit in there are either run out or fired. There are only ten slots in this office, and they have gone through ten people in two years. They recently hired a woman who has previous experience as a supervisor; we were told “not to worry” or “be intimidated” by her title. “Just because she was a supervisor does not mean she will change how we do things here”, we were “comforted”. Gee, maybe she might have some good ideas, but who am I to criticize. This place is also a poster child for your article on toxic people affecting job performance. Five out of ten of the slots there are held by nasty people with backstabbing, demeaning personalities who cover up for each other and throw others under the bus. Thanks for your articles! They have helped me.
[…] From Art Petty: Send in the Clones. The Abuse of “Must Have” in Recruiting and Hiring “Aside from a few obvious technical and vocational roles, there are very few positions in most organizations that absolutely “Must Have” someone who has held the identical role in the same industry with the same job. Nonetheless, the use of “Must Have” remains a staple in recruiting and hiring. It’s too bad, because over-reliance on “Must Have” can lead to a chronic case of mediocrity or worse, a terminal case of recycled bad ideas from industry participants.” […]