A theme that is gaining momentum in hiring is the shift from a laundry list of required skills and credentials a candidate must possess for a job, to emphasis placed on the personality and potential that a candidate can bring to your company at large. Skills can be taught – personality and potential cannot. This post builds upon an earlier post where Pamala Capistrano, our CEO, discussed hiring for someone’s passion.
Sound scary? In many ways, yes it is. However, it can also be liberating in the right culture and company. Certainly there are roles upon which rely heavily on expertise. You certainly wouldn’t want to hire a Controller who is a strategic thinker, entrepreneurial, and heavy on initiative, but has no accounting expertise whatsoever. Some skills may be a core requirement.
However, take another example: an account manager or project manager. Do they need to have hands-on expertise in your exact field? In many cases the answer is no. You may come across a candidate who has a wealth of secondary/soft skills, is a perfect cultural match, and also has account management or project management experience in a related field – enough for you to know that the base skill set is transferable. Now you’ve got an addition to your team who is a perfect fit, has all the signs for potential personal growth, and will be adaptable as needed.
At Status Not Quo we’ve enjoyed enormous success following this strategy. At SNQ, we place the importance of our culture at the top of our list. To this end, we have built an amazing culture of diverse individuals who are experts … period. Notice I didn’t say “experts in so and so field or skill”. We have individuals who are just outstanding achievers who not only fit and add to our corporate culture, but also are adaptable. As we dynamically change on our entrepreneurial roller coaster ride, they adapt and change as needed.
This also makes for a group of likeminded individuals who all contribute to moving the company’s culture forward together for the long run, while also striving for success – all as naturally as breathing.
Scott Capistrano
