Hiring: Where to Start?

Hi, it’s Victor Cheng. Today I want to talk about two quick tips and strategies for smart hiring and recruiting.

First thought is: when you hire — in your company, in your department, in your division, whatever context you are hiring in — you always want to be very aware of your weaknesses.

One useful staffing strategy is to hire people who are very good at the things you stink at. For example, I have a great appreciation for attention to detail. The problem is I’m not very good at it personally. So, I have surrounded myself with a team of individuals who are all very, very good at attention to detail because that’s one of my big weaknesses.

Second strategy is: when you are trying to recruit somebody with a unique set of skills and you are having difficulty… I always use the example of trying to hire somebody who is a rocket scientist and is also a fashion model. Those skills sets by themselves are difficult to find, let alone both skills sets in one individual.

In those situations, it makes sense to consider splitting the role. Rather than one new hire, one person on the team who can be your company’s spokesperson and a rocket scientist, it makes sense sometimes to split the role into two different individuals. So, one rocket scientist and one model who can maybe perhaps be a spokesperson, that kind of a thing.

The reason to do that is because sometimes when you go out to the labor market, the particular configuration of skills you want doesn’t really naturally always fit in a single human being. Or if it does, it’s extremely rare and extremely expensive.

The strategy there when that doesn’t work, is to split the role. And that’s why when you staff and you build out your teams, the way you do it is a bit dynamic. Meaning, you need all the skills to exist on your team to be successful, but you may not necessarily need all those skills to exist within one person on your team. As you hire one person, it can sometimes change what you are looking for in the other people.

Those are my two tips for today. Let me know what you think about this video blogging format. It’s a little new for me. I’m obviously in my car, waiting for my kids to be done with their various school activities. It’s a great way for me to get more content out more easily. Let me know if you like it or not. Any constructive feedback would certainly be very much appreciated. Thanks, and have a great day.

0 thoughts on “Hiring: Where to Start?”

  1. Excellent format! Previously, I was unable to read some good messages due to hurrying up to check hundreds of other messages to digest in a short time. Always save your messages, but it was difficult to retrieve your past message to read even if I find some extra time to relax. Now, I can simply hear in five minutes for what I want to know from your message. Thanks.

  2. This is a great little video Victor. I think most times managers want X, Y, and Z skill sets and will hold out for far too long trying to find it in one person. Of course, there are cost considerations as well that must be balanced against how many people to hire, but with all choices in life there are trade-offs/ It gives us something different to consider though when we go through the process.

  3. Fresh and catchy!
    I like this new format for possibility to get your comments during walking or driving (i.e. when your eyes should be somewhere else). And it is better to be absorbed since I sometimes want to hear rather than read and because you may more effectively emphasize something with your voice rather than in wording.

  4. Great content, as always.

    I lile the new format, especially that there is video and text. Sometimes it is better for me to watch and sometimes to read, so I get to pick the format that is most convenient in the moment.

  5. John Ephraim Torres

    Hi Victor. I would just like to give some feedback on the video format. I find this format better than email because I can watch and listen to you while I’m on my Uber. Reading emails while in the car makes me dizzy. You might also want to consider podcasting to get content out. I usually just listen to podcasts or watch videos during my travel time. I think a lot of other people listen to podcasts too on a regular basis. I also have an idea just now. Maybe you can combine screencasting with a mind map platform to demonstrate the MECE approach to solving cases. I’m usually using mindmup.com to structure my thinking. I can imagine that it will be amazing if a MECE mind map is being constructed in real-time while the case is being solved and explained in the background. Thanks a lot for all the contents you’re sending out, Victor!

  6. I love the informal format. It’s helpful to have the thought nugget and don’t mind the simpler production quality.

    I’m here for your thoughts and mindset not your ability to produce studio-quality video 🙂

    Keep up the great work!

  7. Hi Victor,

    I love your short emails and videos – very concise.

    My question (and concern) about your approach to split the roles is a financial one. Resources are limited and usually can only hire one person. If you hire a “generalist”, you aren’t getting your entire requirements fulfilled. If you hire a specialist, then you would only fulfill one set of requirements vs 2. While every situation always has nuances, what would your general advice be?

    Thanks,

    Brian

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