A manager's guide to employee selection

A manager's guide to employee selection Whether board members of a large corporation are charged with selecting a new fortune 500 CEO or the manager of a small restaurant is in the process of hiring a new busboy the challenges involved in the selection process are similar, if not identical. Yes, from a financial standpoint, there is much more at stake when the board member's select a new corporate leader whose decisions can make or break the company. But a poor decision by the owner of the small restaurant in hiring a busboy can also wreak havoc with his operation and possibly put him out of business. In either case, regardless of the situation, good managers have the same goal- to hire the best person possible for the position they are attempting to fill. Some of the superficial qualities of a prospective hire will be obvious. A door man should be friendly, polite and not have bad-breath but how does one chose, as is most often the case, between two candidates who seem to be friendly, polite and both seemingly brush their teeth. Similarly, most candidates for the position of executive secretary will be comely, well dressed middle aged people with years of secretarial experience. How exactly do you choose the best candidate? In the selection of an executive secretary, and to a lesser extent the busboy, references, first impressions and projected compatibility with the boss undoubtedly will play a factor in the decision to hire or to reject the candidate. It is my contention that, by far and away, the most important qualification a prospective employee can bring to the table is intelligence or, if you will, IQ. All prospective CEOs vary in IQ and the board's job is to chose the smartest candidate from the list of applicants. Similarly, the IQ's of busboys vary greatly and, all other things being relatively equal, it behooves the restaurant manager to pick the smartest one available to work in his establishment. Why, because a smart busboy will outperform a less intelligent one every minute of the hour; every hour of the day; and every day of the week. It’s really as simple as that!