Small Business, Big Lessons® — Are You Hiring a Purple Unicorn?

Having been on both sides of hiring, looking for a job, and looking to add talent, I’ve made a few things as my golden rule for finding the best candidates. Don’t get too hung up on the perfect fit. I’ve seen recruiters talk about attracting and finding the rare but “perfect” candidate, The “purple unicorn”. My experience has shown, the “perfect” is beaten in performance by candidates that are hungry, bring good work ethic, willingness and ability to learn. Perfect is very subjective, their resume has all the key words and they’ve allegedly done everything you need to perfection!

This is not to say training and experience does not matter, it certainly does for a doctor or pilot. But for many other roles not as critical. Do they have transferable skills or maybe something different to bring a new perspective and skill to the team? Do they have a recipe for success and will they work well in your environment? Many managers want the “easy” hire. A person that did the exact same job, in the same industry, for a very long time…I will challenge you to think different. The “easy” generally has lower productivity and is higher maintenance.

Let’s talk about the attributes I believe are important and a few ways to hire different (not to have too much ego – but teams I’ve pulled together outproduced peers groups – every time!!!):

Key attributes of a good hire:

1)    Humble & Honest – This is a difficult one. Everyone is told to brag in an interview. This is an area you want to have conversations around, what was their direct contribution, did they have anything they could have done better, and how did the rest of the team perform. Are there elements where the person used one of their strengths to make everyone around them better? When discussing it did they have an oversized ego?

2)    Gratitude & Attitude – Really important to me is showing appreciation. Are they grateful when something positive happens not only to them but for team members or the business. Also, what is their general attitude? I tell myself and any team I’ve lead, the only thing you really can control is your attitude. I ask for examples of high stress situations, risk of failure, what they did to handle the situation and if they were able to overcome an obstacle. I will sacrifice “correct” skills and full ability to not have a prima donna on the team and invest in a person with the right attitude. Did they take responsibility and keep a positive outlook. These will turn into your stars.

3)    Ability to Learn & Curiosity – Has the person shown growth in previous roles. How do they stay current in the industry. Do they look for new and innovative ways to accomplish something. Note, I also try to ask questions to make sure they are not doing things just to be different but what improvements resulted or what did they learn from it. Learning that it didn’t work can also reinforces the two criteria above. Otherwise you may have hired a mad scientist!

Think through

Ultimately, I want people on the team that are not divas, have a big ego, and are high maintenance. I’d rather have someone that had some struggles and turned things around than a person that has had everything handed to them and has unrealistic expectations about work in general. There is probably room for people like that but not on my team!

How is your talent acquisition going? Feel free to post comments or email them to me. Small Business, Big Lessons™ – Are you hiring a purple unicorn!