Merrill talked specifically about sales reps, which I believe are harder to gauge than operations people. After all, they are in the business of selling and what product should they know better than themselves? If they can’t sell themselves, they sure can’t sell your products, services, or company to other people, so you wouldn’t hire them anyway. Also, there is an expected “ramp up” time, so you don’t expect what they say they are capable of right away (in terms of revenue billed). With ops positions, I think it’s usually easier to tell if someone can do the job and you can normally tell fairly quickly. They can’t hide behind a promise to bring something in down the road, they are judged on their performance pretty much right away.

I’ve encountered two types of dancers. The first type is just simply incompetent or not a fit for the position or organization. They try to do the job asked of them to the best of their ability, but they can’t cut it or are just unhappy. The other type, which is harder to discover and more dangerous to the organization, are the people that take the job knowing they can’t or won’t do the work required to be successful. I think the best of the best know what it takes to skate by doing as little as possible, while giving the impression that they are actually getting things accomplished. They are good at making excuses and talking their way out of sub-par performance, making it plausible for you to give them a second, third, or, even fourth chance and second guess your own opinions: “Am I just picking on this person? Maybe my expectations are too aggressive?” “Well, he has accomplished some things, maybe it will just take some more time”. They may even pick up the pace for a while, making it seem like they are making headway after they are caught sleeping on the job, but, when they feel it is “safe”, they will slip back into their old ways. These people can be hard to judge. Employers want to give them the benefit of the doubt, as they have already invested in them and the good ones know how to play the game better than the honest, hardworking people who are judging them.

I agree with Jami in that it is best to cut your losses and move on quickly. Rarely does hanging on and hoping for the person to “get it” or turn things around actually happen- but it seems as if we are all optimistic people sometimes.

It is hard to tell if someone is “good” by spending a few hours with them in interviews and discussions; however, Merrill’s tips on length of tenure and number of jobs is certainly a tell-tale sign of performance. One thing Merrill did not mention in this entry, which we all know to be true and he and I have discussed in the past, is the use of your own network. References are a joke, as no one is going to give you references that will say negative things. However, opinions from those not listed as references, but know the candidate and/or have worked with the candidate, can give you the best insight into what type of employee he will be. As in all industries, word gets around, and doing the extra work to make a few calls to well connected friends could help you avoid a huge nightmare. I wish I would have sought more industry opinions in regard to some of my hires.

I have seen many people try and make something work that just can’t simply becasue admitting a poor hiring decision means that the best job the employee has done to date was SELL YOU ON HIRING THEM. Like many things in both the business and personal world, efforts must be made to put the ego aside, admit the mistake, and take corrective action immediately so you can get back on track. As GI Joe says, “and knowing is half the battle.”

Back to the salesperson issue, I agree with you, Merrill, in that a salesperson (or anyone, for that matter) that can’t seem to stay put more than 2 years tops at any one company is either (A) not as good as he/she may claim or (B) may be good, but continually goes against the grain of the working environment that he/she is in, resulting in their leaving, either voluntarily or otherwise. Having one job stint that lasts 12-24 months may be easily explained and beleived, but repeat occurrances across a candidiate’s works history leads me to believe that I am about to become another 12-24 month notch in their belt if I am not careful.