Why the Best Hire might not have the Perfect Resume
I was going through a TedTalk “Why the Best Hire Might Not Have the Perfect Resume” by Regina Hartley. [1]The examples she cited struck me immensely. When I tried to extrapolate the same in the Indian context, the learnings were so obvious
Imagine a hypothetical situation where your company launches a search for a Chartered Accountant and applications start flowing in by the dozens.
The conundrum would have at its extreme ends
- Candidate A who has graduated from an SRCC, interned with EY, a Big 4 audit firm and secured a rank in both CA Inter and Final. He/she has excellent communication skills (probably a natural outcome of studying in a missionary school) and was remarkable when asked to showcase skills during a GD on “India needs GST”
- Candidate B who is just from a normal DU college, has interned with a mid-sized firm- Khanna & Associates, and took 3 attempts to clear CA Finals (maybe the curse of a 39 in a particular paper in the first attempt, a group total short in the second, who knows). His/her communication skills are average (from a Hindi or ‘officially converted into English’ medium school till Class X), nothing really impressive. Was able to make a few valid points during that GD but nowhere near the Wow
You have the Silver Spoons and the Scrappers all over.
One who clearly had advantages and was destined for success versus the other who had to fight against tremendous odds to get to the same point.
Whom would you select?
Certainly, the objective of penning my thoughts on this was in no way to disparage the Silver Spoon, there is a lot of hard work and sacrifice that goes into making of a resume that is engineered for success.
But the larger question that I wanted to raise was that, in case of the Scrappers, what if your whole life is destined for failure and you actually succeed?
He/she will certainly be able to handle tough times better, will not have ego issues and will not be judgmental about quality of work.
In one study designed to measure the effects of adversity on children at risk, among a subset of 698 children who experienced the most severe and extreme conditions, fully one-third grew up to lead healthy, successful and productive lives. In spite of everything and against tremendous odds, they succeeded. One-third.
Take this resume. This guy\’s parents give him up for adoption. He never finishes college. He job-hops quite a bit, goes on a sojourn to India for a year, and to top it off, he has dyslexia. Would you hire this guy? His name is Steve Jobs.
“Scrappers” tend to believe that the only ones who will prevent them from success are themselves and are determined to overcome the next struggle. When things don\’t turn out well, Scrappers ask, \”What can I do differently to create a better result?\”
Kind of like if you\’ve survived poverty, a crazy father and several muggings, you figure, \”Business challenges? —
Please do interview the Scrappers!! He/she is the underestimated contender, whose secret weapons are passion and purpose
They may be your best long-term bet J
Agree? Disagree? What are some of your thoughts on the topic?
Thanks & Regards
Sonia Singal
Founder, cajobportal.com
Experience Celebral Recruiting
[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/regina_hartley_why_the_best_hire_might_not_have_the_perfect_resume?language=en