Hire Right

Personality counts when hiring quality employees
By Karen Nielsen

In small companies, every position matters. And every open position hurts.

But how do stretched-for-time business owners find that diamond in the rough? Trade show exhibit dealers each have their own hiring philosophy, and clearly some work better than others. We asked around to see what others in the industry are doing.

Stan Sacks, owner and president of Sacks Exhibits in Boston, tries to narrow the scope of his job candidate searches by tapping into talent-specific Web sites, such as www.Coroflot.com and www.creativehotlist.com.

He’s wary of what he calls a “jumper,” or a candidate who changes jobs every two years and has been at 10 or more companies. Such an employee is clearly not interested in longevity at his company.

Conversely, another red flag is an employee who has stayed at the same job for longer than seven years, says Bob Gale, owner of Gale Executive Recruiting in Laguna Beach, Calif.

“It shows they are a bump on a log,” he says. “They think they are giving loyalty and doing a good job, but to a potential employer it means they haven’t advanced and don’t have the charisma to push and drive their career forward.”

Glenn Diehl, president and owner of Skyline Displays Manhattan LLC in Secaucus, N.J., looks for people who have accomplished something – either personally or professionally.

Employees with an extensive job history, that changes every two years, is a definite red flag.

“If sales people have been involved in competitive sports activities, it shows they are used to working as part of a team and used to being successful,” he says.

Diehl also values strong character over skill sets. Ideal candidates for his fast-paced company are those with integrity and a willingness to learn new things.

He screens for that by asking about their heroes. Answers such as Mother Teresa demonstrate the candidate has a high moral stance. “My Dad – the self-made business man,” is also a good answer because it indicates that person aspires to be like his hero.

Sacks also uses interview questions to delve deeper into a candidate’s character. He’s interested in their past accomplishments, what they like to do for fun and where they see themselves in 10 years – a question that often catches them off guard.

Gale finds that personality tests, similar to the well-known Myers-Briggs model (here's one on the Web at HumanMetrics), reveal whether people are leaders or followers, extroverts or introverts and lead by fact or feeling.

This method is often expensive but leads to spot-on staffing choices. Ideal candidates are confident, enthusiastic and good communicators.

“Personality is a clear way to judge a candidate’s ambition, drive and intellect,” says Gale.

Hands-On Experience
Not every position at an exhibit company is easily trainable. Diehl says he prefers that his designers have software experience, his sales people bring account management skills, and that product managers be well-equipped to deal with the pressure of keeping it all together.

Project managers keep company chaos to a minimum. Ask the right questions to ensure they can handle stressful situations.

Some people just aren’t cut out to work in an industry where change is the norm and stress levels run high.

Diehl employs an unconventional method to observe how his candidates hold up under pressure. He hands them a puzzle with two interlocking nails, asks them to unlock it and, at the same time, discuss the last thing they taught themselves how to do.

“How they react to that situation tells me a lot about how they work,” he says. “If they throw the nails on the table and say, ‘I hate these things,’ then I say, ‘You would hate working here.’”

Karen Nielsen is a freelance writer in Plano, Texas.