This post was mentioned on Twitter by travisro: New Post: Want to be Successful? You Need These 2 Skills: http://su.pr/1R2TEq...

Alas, the profanity thing doesn't surprise me. We had a candidate (a pre-screened candidate, no less) ramble and swear for 20 minutes on how much he hated his past jobs and managers. We finally had to cut him off and send him on his way.

The most important thing I've learned after 10 years of hiring people is this: be willing to have an empty position for as long as it takes to find the perfect person. I don't rush to hire anyone. I made that mistake early on and it cost me a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of sleepless nights. I'm willing to take 6 months to fill the spot if that's how long it takes for the perfect person to come along.

I'll likely do a post on it soon, but here's the basic flow I use:
1. Write an incredibly detailed job description. Also, put the money they will make in the ad. I'm all about being up-front and honest. I also don't want to interview someone who wants to make more than I'm willing to pay. This cuts down on a LOT of junk applications and resumes.
2. Do quick 20-30 minute phone interviews with only those who look interesting. You can tell a lot about people in 20-30 minutes. I usually have a sense in the first 3-5 minutes.
3. If I like them, I'll schedule an in-person interview that runs about an hour. The thing I look for here is excitement about the position and character. I've had people use profanity in an interview. It shocks me how much of their default character comes through when they're under pressure. I can train skills. I can't train character.
4. If they do well in that, we give them the Strengths Finder 2.0 test. We want to make sure they'll fit in the position we have for them. I don't want an Activator in a project management role. Most other tests can be manipulated. I've taken most of them and I think this is the most accurate profile and its nearly impossible to manipulate.
5. Then we invite them and their spouse (if applicable) to dinner/lunch and let the spouse ask us questions. This is a big one since (as Dave Ramsey says) our wives have a sixth sense and can read people. If she gets that "feeling" as he calls it, that ends it for the candidate.
6. If there are no red flags, make an offer. This is it in a short list. There's more, but this is the gist.

This got long-winded. May not need to do a separate post on it now.

Not to thread-jack you here, but I would love to hear more about your adventures in hiring sometime. I didn't think I'd be working HR when I joined BookFool, but I guess it was inevitable!

One of the only times we're not selling is when we're interviewing new Fools for open positions. We actively try to dissuade them from taking the job and let them sell us on why they want it anyway. It's astonishing how many applicants have no idea why they want to work for us!