Putting Humanity into HR Compliance: Use ‘Star Profiles’ for Hiring

Many years ago, as president of a nonprofit association, I hired an executive director. I thought I'd hit the jackpot! His resume, qualifications and responses to interview questions were outstanding. Not long after his employment began, however, I couldn't wait for it to end. What happened? I had conflated the ability of the candidate to get a job with his ability to do it. Over the years, I learned that I'm not the only one susceptible to this mistake—far from it. Unwittingly, HR sometimes encourages this error. The hiring process often starts with a left-brain, analytical focus on qualifications, years of experience, education attained and other box-checking steps. After that comes the right-brain analysis: Which candidate makes me feel best? This is not the best way to hire the best people. Consider the "star profile" instead to guide your hiring decisions.