Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Selection

He would often reflect on the interviews.

One guy was an old manager. Not very polished and there was a whiff of desperation in some of his answers. It was combined with a possible rigidity. He worried that the "set in his ways" stereotype might be true.

One woman had related experience but nothing directly in the subject area. Her main drawback was she was politically connected to some executives within the organization. She dropped a few names, not knowing they were his adversaries.

Another woman flirted. Bad move. He didn't need that and he wondered about her judgment.

The final candidate was articulate, amiable, and experienced. He made one small but troublesome comment that hinted at a tendency to disregard the opinions of others, but all of his other answers were strong and well-reasoned.

He selected the fourth contender. Years later, he would look back and conclude that any of the other three would have been better.

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