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We almost missed out on hiring our best employee. At a previous company I worked for, we had a candidate go through several rounds of interviews for an individual contributor role. Her performance in the interview challenges were sound, but her communication style didn’t match the interviewers’ (it was a combination of being international, and simply having a different personality than those on the team). The interviewers felt that they couldn’t connect with her, they all said they’d like to pass. Except for the hiring manager. He spent considerable time with her, focusing on the content of her responses and values she exhibited when talking about her work. He also spoke with a member of the board who saw her performance at a different company and vouched that she was an excellent employee. The hiring manager ultimately moved forward with hiring her. This was the first and only time I’ve seen a hiring manager go against a unanimous panel... And honestly, I don’t recommend it in most cases, but in this case... It was the most incredible decision. This employee: 🍊Became the top producer with 3 months 🍊Won a company award for being the most reliable and hardworking 🍊Stayed with the company for many years Yes, it took her a while to build relationships. But once people started to see her personality for the unique brand it is, she was absolutely beloved. And when people saw her CHARACTER and team work, she got so much respect, and folks looked up to her. So this is all to say: 🍊Don’t hire the person you’d like to have a beer with. 🍊Don’t hire the person who reminds you of your childhood friend. 🍊Don’t hire with your gut. Look DEEPER at their values, character, attitude, and skills. You know what’s the worst part? Had we not hired her, we would have never known the massive mistake we made. This is the confirmation bias of hiring. Look deeper when hiring! Have you ever felt misunderstood in the interview process? OR vouched to hire someone who was misunderstood? PS - We currently have a few openings for our done-for-you job search program to get you offers in 90 days, you can book a call by finding the link to coaching in my bio