Have you ever made a hiring decision that you later regretted? I’m betting nearly everyone has. Whether it was letting someone go or hiring the wrong individual we’ve all been there. Sometimes the people who you think will be the best fit, who pass all the tests, have the charisma, intellect and background that makes them seem like the perfect fit well, just aren’t.
Consider this: A world where Forrest Gump doesn’t have the lovable face of Tom Hanks but instead John Travolta. Will Smith as Neo in The Matrix. What about Mel Gibson as the Terminator AND Batman? Madness – shear madness! What if these stars hadn’t turned down these roles? Think of how their lives, their careers and those of the crew and cast and the industry would be different. Would The Blind Side have been such a smash hit if Julia Roberts was the lead (another role she turned down). Would Sandra Bullock still be America’s sweetheart without the Oscar?
If we’re not going to leave it up to serendipity then we need a proper selection process. Is yours the same across candidate lines or do you have a different strategy per candidate type? For instance – how do you select which talent from your competitors that you want to engage with? Is it solely based on their performance at a different organization? Just because Keanu Reeves was funny in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure doesn’t mean he would have been the perfect fit for Charlie Sheen’s role in Platoon (thank goodness he turned that down, can you imagine?).
If only we could clone our top talent.
photo by glassesshop.com