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Spy on your job-seekers

Management 7 Mins Read
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Spying on candidates Jonar NaderThe job interview is a fake environment. If you really want to know who you are hiring, you need to spy on your candidates. Here are some ideas that might assist you. Before I hire someone, I do a lot of background checking on them. When I meet them, I upset them to see what spills out. When I find out where they hang out, I send out spies. However, before we discuss the candidate, we need to look at the entire hiring process which is often unfair and downright abusive. For this reason, I believe that no organisation should invite anyone to an interview before it had first sent to the candidate all the information about the job, the job description, the company, and a background about the manager and the colleagues. I would also expect information about the salary, the package, the employment contract, the terms and conditions, the sign-off auhority, and whether or not the candidate would be expected to fly in Businss Class or Economy. I would want to see photos of the office and where the candidate would sit, and whether or not a company car and/or a car-parking spot is available. Before a company wastes anyone’s time, it should reveal everything, including: the statistics of how many managers have come and gone; how long the CEO has been in place; the staff turnover; and similar data about the working environment. Having disclosed all the information, now comes the time to spy on your candidates.

Once upon a time, I required a marketing communications manager. I advertised the position and received eighty expressions of interest. I had specifically asked applicants not to send their resume to me. Instead, I sent a package to each respondent. The packaged outlined everything I could share with them. I tried to sell them on the job, before they had to sell me on their skills. In the package were instructions on how to apply. Essentially, I said that I do not want a traditional resume. I preferred something creative. I wanted candidates to think creatively. Of the eighty who expressed interest, only eight or fewer responded as per my instructions. That sorted the serious folk from the time-wasters.

I often warn head-hunters and candidates not to mention anything in the resume that is not real. For example, if someone says that they enjoy golf or theatre etc, I would expect that they would be completely immersed in golf or theatre. I would not take kindly to someone just writing about general hobbies that are nothing more than a passing fancy.

When the candidate comes for an interview, I would have someone watch how well they can park. How often must they move the car backwards and forwards to position the vehicle correctly? If they cannot park a car, and they have been driving for years, it would say a lot about their state of mind and their tolerance for imperfection. What are they doing about personal development?

It is not unusual for me to ask other members of staff, or trusted friends, to meet with my candidates, at odd times, in strange places. I have invited candidates to bowling alleys and amusement arcades, along with some of their prospective work-mates. How people interact outside the formal meeting room, can be revealing. How they eat, how they play, how they conduct themselves when they are off guard and off duty, will reveal more to me than whether or not someone has a degree from Harvard.

Suppose that you spied on your candidate (via legal means only) and you found the following, how would that colour your opinion about a person? To me, I take a person’s conduct seriously. If someone cannot park properly, it says to me that they do not care to improve. If they litter when no-one is looking, I wonder what else they would do around the office when no-one is watching. Here are some photos that can make you think twice about candidates. I am not even touching on their social networking sites, which can be more than enlightening.

Here is a candidate who parks the car very close to the kerb. Not a big deal. But not wise. He then hits the car in front. Perhaps he was in a tight spot. Not so. The third photo shows the distance at the rear. A sign of sloppy thinking. by all means, people can do what they like, but when they are custodians of your brand, you have to wonder how sloppy they might be with your assets.
Here is a candidate who parks the car very close to the kerb. Not a big deal. But not wise. He then hits the car in front. Perhaps he was in a tight spot. Not so. The third photo shows the distance at the rear. A sign of sloppy thinking. By all means, people can do what they like, but when they are custodians of your brand, you have to wonder how sloppy they might be with your assets.
If a candidate has no respect for the law of the land, and speaks on a mobile phone while driving, how costly would it be for the company if the executive loses his licence and can no longer drive. Or if the exective has an accident as a result of mobile phone distractions, and ends up on the front page of a newspaper?
If a candidate has no respect for the law of the land, and speaks on a mobile phone while driving, how costly would it be for the company if the executive loses his licence and can no longer drive. Or if the executive has an accident as a result of mobile phone distractions, and ends up on the front page of a newspaper?
In my books, I often warn staff about drinking within a work environment. Here is a young woman on the ground. How could she expect a promotion after this incident? In her new post, she would be expected to travel the world and entertain clients. What kind of a liability and an embarrassment would she be?
I often warn staff about drinking within a work environment. Here is a young woman on the ground. How could she expect a promotion after this incident? In her new post, she would be expected to travel the world and entertain clients. What kind of a liability and an embarrassment would she be?
What kind of risk could a person be if they have a gambling problem? Today I heard on the news that a man is suing Crown Casino because he gambled away $1000 million (one billion) dollars. He expected the casino to have stopped him. I guess an employer might also be expected to stop a candidate, but everyone says that we should mind our own business. Then they want to sue when they reach the end of the line. I wonder if he would have sued if he had own $3 billion. Would he have complained about that outcome?
What kind of risk could a person be if they have a gambling problem? Today I heard on the news that a man tried to sue Crown Casino because he gambled away $1000 million (one billion) dollars. He expected the casino to have stopped him. I guess an employer might also be expected to stop a candidate, but everyone says that we should mind our own business. Then they want to sue when they reach the end of the line. I wonder if the gambler would have sued if he had won $3 billion. Would he have complained about that outcome? Unethical, undisciplined drip sticks.
This candidate was young, fit, and healthy. He belonged to an up-market gym. All sound sporting. Except for his manner is the change rooms. He gets on the mobile phone and has no regard for people around him. A foul mouth, spits in the shower. Does not pick up his towels. Keeps the locker doors open. Opens a bag of shopping and rips of the tags from his new clothes, and litters the floor with them, when the exclusive club is otherwise clean, and the rubbish bin is within arms length. What a spoilt brat. No thanks. Can't work with that kind of attitude.
This candidate was young, fit, and healthy. He belonged to an up-market gym. All sounds sporting. Except for his manner in the change rooms. He gets on the mobile phone and has no regard for people around him. He is a loud foul-mouth, cursing and laughing. He spits in the shower. He does not pick up his towels. Keeps the locker doors open. He opens a bag of shopping and rips off the tags from his new clothes, and litters the floor with them, when the exclusive club is otherwise clean, and the rubbish bin is within arms length. What a spoilt brat. No thanks. Can’t work with that kind of attitude.

Here is an excerpt from one of the chapters in my book, ‘How to Lose Friends and Infuriate Your Boss’ wherein I speak about integrity:

‘You speak volumes by what you do not say. You expose your integrity by what you refuse to accept. You highlight your conviction by what you refuse to believe. Astute people will determine your fibre by observing what you deem insignificant. They will construe your essence by what you overlook. They will interpret your actions by what you neglect. They will assess your grandeur by how low you stoop. They will examine your honour by what you hide. Shrewd people will scrutinise your nature by giving you whatever you ask for. They will examine your morality by tantalising your pleasures. They will probe your ethics by sponsoring your indulgences. They will unveil your principles by extending your authority. They will know your limits by replenishing your power so that you will be able to reach your destination. Leaders do not mind clumsy people, but they worry about polished yobs. They do not mind the uneducated, but they loathe the ignorant. They can see value in a rough diamond, but not in fool’s gold. The tiniest detail exposes impostors. Vulgarity seizes glamour. Rudeness usurps style. Indiscretion smothers elegance. Insensitivity extinguishes romance. Selfishness destroys love.’

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