Two separate conversations with different senior leaders’ triggered this post.

One asked whether there was a single test to help identify the right person for the right job. The other felt that the probation period could help determine the suitability as a short interview was not sufficient to know whether a candidate was the right fit.

There can be no single test to determine suitability of a candidate and all organizations need to take responsibility to ensure that the candidates who are recruited are most likely to succeed in their jobs.

Errors in selection can and ought to be minimized by taking multiple perspectives and views. Tests (where applicable) and interviews are a part of a wider selection process. One way to approach the process is to look for competencies that are common to all successful people.

Here are two leaders on what they looked for as ‘must have’ competencies for success:

Jack Welsh (Former Chairman and CEO of GE) looked for

James M. Kilts (Former CEO of Gillette)

(Brains and capacity for hard work are a given)

(Source: Doing what matters)

Incidentally when

“Warren Buffett was asked why the Gillette board of directors chose Jim Kilts to be CEO, he said, “Jim made as much sense in terms of talking about business as anybody I’ve ever talked to. If you listen to Jim analyze a business situation you get absolutely no baloney. And, frankly, finding someone like that is a rarity.”

Ultimately, Good leaders learn to develop a Personal Check-list of what has worked for them while picking out good candidates.

A book on a related subject that makes interesting reading is Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers