by Susan D. Anderson

Created on: April 08, 2010

Unless you have a highly creative business with a very small staff, something like “Ace of Cakes” Chef Duff has at Charm City Cakes, it’s unrealistic to expect employees at all levels of the organization to be talented.  However, every organization needs talented people in critical positions to keep the organization successful and thriving.   When such a position is open in the organization, you do become like a talent scout, looking for people who have an extra measure of all the key skills.

To find people with the talents you need, the first step is to create clear standards you can apply to candidates’ credentials that will help you to sort through their materials.  For example, suppose my standards for a talented quality control person include an advanced degree in business, proven skills with on-the-job training course design and delivery, and strong samples of written protocols and procedural manuals.  Those are the talents the job calls for, so I want candidates who can show me that they have already mastered the main responsibilities of the job.  I do not want applicants who will require a lot of oversight and direction as they get used to the job, no matter how much potential they may have.  Save people with potential for positions that have opportunities for growth and advancement within the organization.

The next step is to put that information into the ad for the position.  Key words in the ad copy are advanced degree, proven skills, strong samples.  Without the adjectives, you’re leaving yourself open to getting applicants who think they can do the job because they have done some things that seem to relate.  A classic example is the applicant who names all the ways in which s/he is a great communicator, but who has never created graphic organizers or addressed a group of 35 middle managers that need retraining in cost efficiencies.  Similarly, top performers are less likely to respond to a vague ad that merely asks for some education, some skills with training, and some writing samples, because it doesn’t speak to their level of competence.

Next, create a simple scale – say, 1, 2, 3, with 1 being the strongest candidates, 2 being average candidates and 3 being the weakest candidates.  Now you have some very refined ways of sorting out your candidates to see which ones stand out as most worth your consideration.

Make a chart that has the scale down

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>