Business maxim: You manage the way you hire

For obvious reasons, the topic of "hiring" is on my mind these days.  I learned a long time ago that the way an organization treats you during a job interview reveals how they will treat you once you are hired.

• If the interview process seems a little disorganzied--such as when the people who meet you say, "I'm not really sure why they asked ME to talk to you"--you can bet that the organization is a little disorganized.
• If you are met with a rigid process during the interview, it's probably a process oriented firm
• If you sit through a group interview, that could indictate a culture that is open, friendly and driven by consensus-based decision making
• If there is no HR person, or a part-time HR person, you're probably dealing with an entrepreneurial firm that expects it's people to wear many hats
• If the entire process is managed very professionally--offer letters, prompt responses from HR--then you can expect a professionally run business

The thing is...A company should have ONE value proposition and present it to everyone who it comes into contact with.  That's sure to come out during the interview process.  If the company does NOT have a solid value proposition, well, that'll come out too.

Comments

[Adrienne Wallace Hayward]

There are no more true words than what you have expressed here and I hope both sides take heed. Thanks for this Dave!
- "A"