Any good coach in sports will tell you that having players who work well together is one of the biggest keys to a team’s success. It’s the same in business. If you’re in charge of hiring employees or putting a team together to work on a big project at work, here are five tips for assembling the best squad:1) When I look at a resume, I look for a wide variety of experience, skills and growth. If there is a limited amount of experience on the resume, I look for a wide variety of responsibilities. Ultimately though, I am more interested in the person and how their experience translates to applicable knowledge and skills.
2) During the interview process I focus on getting to know the person. I ask questions that require the application of the skills and experience on their resume. Most of all, I like to ask a person about their failures. You can really tell a lot about how a person will work out when you learn how they handle adversity. Do they learn from their mistakes? Are they capable of solving problems? This is also a key indicator of how someone works under pressure and a huge part of building a good team. After all, we all need to be able to depend on each other.
3) I try to get to know the person. I know that as a manager, I have a distinct style to the way I manage a team and handle my responsibilities. I make a concerted effort to get a feel for the personality of a candidate to see if it aligns with my style. For example, I look for people who crack jokes during an interview, which to me says they don’t take themselves too seriously – a key for working on a team with me.
4) Experience isn’t as critical as is the hunger to do what it takes to get the job done. I want someone who isn’t going to be weighed down by their title; someone who is going to be fearless and take a shot at solving a problem even if they may fail. On-the-job experience far outweighs book smarts in my opinion because each situation can be unique and require a unique approach. I want the person who is not set in their ways.
5) Most importantly, I always trust my gut. I can usually tell after an interview whether a candidate will work out or not. I can’t really describe it other than to say my gut feeling is right most of the time and I have learned to trust it. Sometimes a candidate just doesn’t feel like a good fit and sometimes they feel perfect.
