How To Hire Successfully

I have hired and fired hundreds of people in my lifetime so far. I have had a chance to learn what works and what doesn’t work, especially with hiring.

I look for character. I measure it by determining the prospect’s work ethic, integrity, intelligence, self-responsibility, people skills, writing capabilities, sense of humor, and other important character traits. References are, of course, very important in helping me determine character so that is what I ask about.

I look for previous success and I am less concerned with advanced education or specific training and experience as I believe anyone with adequate character can be trained to do just about anything. Thus, I hire young college-educated people with limited but evident success, a strong work ethic and other important aspects for a specific job, then train them to do exactly what I need them to do.

I also take into consideration how well any new employee will fit into the existing culture. It is important that there is a community in the workplace and a new employee must be able to fit into it or the relationship will not work out for the best.

Depending upon age of the potential employee, I frequently ask to speak to their mother. It is a most wonderful experience and I learn so much–it is a very revealing experience. I learn more about a young person’s character from their mother than any other way and the information is incredibly reliable and accurate. Aunts, wives, relatives of all sorts make the best references as they know the person the best and can tell me the most and they usually will.

These are the things that are important: work ethic, success, leadership skills, character. This all works for me. Hire people of good character and train them to do their job.