SCORE Denver Presents : Hiring Winners

Want to hire the right person?

Most interviewers have a prepared list of skills and knowledge (training and education) questions they use when qualifying an applicant to hire. Even after qualifying 100%, the applicant now the employee fails to perform the job requirements. Ever wonder what went wrong, what did we miss?

The characteristic missed was "talent". Determining the candidate's talent is a difficult qualification to question. If you were hiring a musician, a chef or a quarterback you could listen to them sing, taste their Beef Wellington or even ask them to throw you a pass. But that would only determine if they have the skill not the talent to perform the duties of the job. What about being able to successfully sing in a concert, run the restaurant's kitchen or play in a game on the field?

Skills and knowledge are characteristics that can be learned by candidate that have talent. The secret is to determine if the job applicant has the talent to do your job.