The selection of personnel is one of the most important processes that exist within the functions of the Human Talent Management, since it is through this process that it is possible to attract a good number of people with the necessary skills to make the company what that she is expected to be, with the desired quality and correct orientation.
However, there are some distortions that, although they may seem specific to the area and the process, diminish the value of the selection process, and in most cases end up causing the loss of valuable and significant human talent.
These distortions stem from the excessive importance placed on selection experience and the overvalued trust that can be placed in it, and especially when who is responsible for selecting has lost the ability to accept that they may be wrong or that their judgment it may be biased or limited. Although it is usual for so-called experts to be confident and trust what they do, their opinions are not always based on well-founded analysis and professional criteria, in some cases, they may be simple hunches or merely appreciative value judgments. It is not very difficult to determine when the decision made by the managers of the selection is based on an objective fact and not simply on a personal appreciation that can deprive the company of the right people,you just have to know how they emit it.
Many of the professionals dedicated to the selection of human talent know that the word, as a key part of communication, offers an image of the type of person with whom they deal, not only how they articulate and engage, but the way in which it is exposed in front of a certain context.
Expressions and phrases can facilitate, for those who know how to interpret them, the identification of judgments made professionally, by guessing or to appear scholarly in front of the interlocutor, but, as well as evaluating how a candidate expresses himself, the same practice can be carried out with whoever performs the interview or supports your judgment before a selected candidate in order to establish whether you are facing an objective and professional decision or assessment or is simply a subjective statement.
One of these manifestations, and perhaps the most widely used, is the hateful statement that some coaches make when they say "I don't see him exercising that position" and that they unconsciously or intentionally say it even in front of the applicant.
When an interviewer expresses directly and forcefully that he "does not see" the candidate in a particular position, not only does he demonstrate a lack of objectivity, but his total ignorance regarding the selection process itself is made manifest. No matter how many, when reading this, point out that it is simply an expression, ensuring that the candidate is “not seen” in an area does not seem to be an expert's own judgment. It is simple, it is not the coach who must "see" the candidate in the position, it must be the applicant who manages to "see" in the exercise of the position.
The selector must dedicate himself to comparing the matches of the candidate's profile with those of the vacancy to be covered in terms of experience, knowledge, academic level and other related skills, and this must be done before interviewing the applicant, since once in the presence of what corresponds is to corroborate what was already observed during the previous study.
It is incorrect to point out, both to the applicant and to the person in charge of the vacancy that the applicant is not "seen" in that particular position, since, as already stated, it is not the job of the person in charge to "see" him, his job Determine whether or not the candidate meets the job expectations.
If it were a matter of "seeing", many historical figures would have been immediately discarded due to the appreciation given by their evaluators, for example; Christopher Columbus did not seem to be the appropriate one to carry out the business he suggested; Benjamin Franklin had barely studied so as to be able to claim to write articles in a newspaper of respected reputation; Albert Einstein was an officer in a patent office, he did not seem to possess the characteristics of a physics genius; and Alexander the Great was too young to conquer the world. But, the same story has shown that it was not about what others "think", "believe" or "see" but about how the candidate sees himself in a certain position, and the results speak for themselves.
How many professionals with excellent skills will not have rejected your company because of this incorrect practice of not "seeing you in a particular position"?
Another manifestation that denotes a judgment based on subjective aspects, which can make the organization not select potential transformative leaders, is one that is said lightly without realizing the impact it may have, this is: “I don't like that candidate".
Firstly, the selection process is not a beauty contest, popularity, much less sympathy, it is a matter of seriousness and professionalism. Although it is true that the fact that a fluid, comfortable and pleasant interaction between the candidate and the coach, as well as the person in charge of the area where the vacancy is, is important, it is no less true that not all Human relationships are interconnected immediately and that some people tend to be cautious in environments where they have little or no information, or that by their nature are usually direct, open, or closed and circumspect.
The selection of personnel cannot orbit the expression of pleasure or displeasure that may be possessed in relation to a candidate, since this is also incorrect and unprofessional. The candidate conforms or not to the profile, meets or not the expectations of the position, not those of the individuals responsible for the selection, because if it were to meet the expectations of those who select the process, it would no longer be an administrative practice and should be located either in a contest of congeniality or in some type of art.
History is also full of examples where people who were rejected by subjectivity judgments ended up being decisive for the achievement of organizational objectives and therefore for the success of the company. Perhaps the most remembered case, for its dramatization in the cinema, in the movie The Blind Side (2009), is the one that corresponds to Michael Oher, the American football player who was victims of rejection by his teachers, playmates and coach., because they "did not like it" (and did not even see him as a member of the team) and ended up being a true star in that discipline.
Although there are more incorrect expressions, which manifest the lack of objectivity in the selection of personnel and may be the cause of the loss of valuable human talent, the two that have been described are the most widely used and those that, therefore, they go unnoticed in the organizational environment.
A professional in the area, who boasts of being one, avoids the use of the phrase "I do not see him in office", does not say it to the candidate and less to the client, whether external or internal, on the contrary, instead of feeding Such subjective judgment, guides its criteria to the curricular aspects of the position that, being vital for the exercise of it, does not warn them developed in the applicant according to the minimum percentage required by the profile of the position.
If the candidate adjusts to the search, in what corresponds to the requirements to exercise it, but lacks a similar or similar attitude to the members of the team, it is difficult, as a professional, to express his disapproval indicating that he "does not like it" the applicant, the selector will highlight the aspects that may, according to his criteria, not facilitate the insertion of the person in the group, without ruling it out for it, and will direct the attention of the applicant unit to those applicants who have greater coincidences with the profile.
Saying "I don't see him in the job" or "I don't like this candidate" shows, as already mentioned, the absence of criteria, objectivity and professionalism. Companies should not be satisfied with personal opinions based on subjective criteria that help little or nothing in selecting the right people.
To select human talent requires acuity, balance and objectivity, you cannot reject a person because of a professional myopia that prevents seeing them in a position where they perceive themselves capable and willing; or due to the lack of criteria specific to the area that avoid hiring it simply because the person who selects it does not end up liking it. It is important to remember that people are worth more for what they can do than for what they have done.
