All jobs require some level of cognitive ability, and research has demonstrated time and time again that cognitive ability relates to higher job performance in all roles (although the relationship is stronger in more complex job roles). But is there an upper limit? Can you be too smart for a job?
What do you do when you have a candidate with the “perfect” behavioral needs and drives for a position—you know they can handle the work, culturally it’s a match, they are driven and determines—but their overall cognitive score, their capacity to learn, adapt, and grasp new concepts in the workplace, is falling short. I have had…
Think about this: When you interview a candidate for a position, a primary input in the decision-making process (the resume) is provided by the candidate. While the resume certainly gives you an overview of experience, education, and skills, it’s still information that’s curated by the candidate. This is equivalent to a used car salesperson handing…
For too long hiring managers have relied on gut feel to assess candidates for a job. They’ve relied on what they believe to be tried and true methods for predicting a candidate’s success only to be met with mixed results. A resume is great but it only tells part of the story. Relying on factors…
There’s an old consumer-protection saying that “if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.” For hiring managers I’d amend that adage slightly and say, “If a candidate seems too charming to be true, he probably is.” Don’t get me wrong—there’s nothing wrong with charm in business. But there’s also data suggesting…
Have you ever witnessed someone trying to tell a spooky ghost story, only to be silenced by someone matter-of-factly stating that they don’t believe in ghosts? This situation has always been a somewhat annoying one to me because, while I’m personally very skeptical of the existence of ghosts, I like to hear a good ghost…
If you’ve ever searched for a job, you know that not all job descriptions are well written. And if you’ve ever had to build a job description—well, let’s just say many of us would prefer to watch paint dry. But crafting a job listing doesn’t have to be a horrible experience. Here are 14 tips to…
You are staring at a cursor on a blank screen. Or, if you’re lucky, you have a template of some kind to work with. If you’re unlucky, you might be looking at a mess of a job description someone else tried to create—that you need to turn into a magic document that will not only…
Before building an all-star sales team, these PI behavioral patterns will identify who your top-performing salespeople are. While nothing trumps a Job Assessment, or setting a Job Target, to determine the perfect fit for your sales organization, I am often asked by prospective and current clients which patterns we typically see in different sales positions. One…
Thinking about gaming the system? What you need to know before faking a personality test. You just applied for a job and you’ve been asked to take a personality test or other pre-employment assessment. Questions immediately start rushing through your head. Is this going to be hard? What if the results are not truly me?…
Organizational charts play a critical role in the workplace. They display and communicate internal structure within the organization, allowing individuals to understand the hierarchy of teams, departments, and the organization as a whole. Top tips to create an organization chart Pick what type of organizational chart you’ll use. When it comes to creating your organizational…
