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The Number One Priority In Hiring

Published by on September 28, 2016September 28, 2016

I have hired a lot of people over the years from working in the corporate world to being involved with several different non-profits. I ultimately take all of the factors involved and put them into one of two major categories, character or competency.

Competency is the possession of the skill set, experience or aptitude to do a particular job with excellence. This can be accessed through a variety of performance evaluation tools and talking with references.

Character is the sum total of the moral and ethical qualities of an individual that is based on their core beliefs about life. This takes quite a bit longer to evaluate and many times references will give you only one side of the story.

I make sure I am able to spend a lot of informal time with the person so that I can eventually move beyond the interview script and hear their heart. I also never hire a key person without meeting their spouse.

The priority of evaluating this part of the person must take first place over all other qualifications. As a matter of fact, character has moved to the top of the list in the corporate world.

The first test in hiring anyone at General Electric under the leadership of Jack Welch was the character quality of integrity. He wrote, “people with integrity tell the truth and they keep their word. They take responsibility for past actions, admit mistakes, and fix them.”

Someone has well said, your ability may help get you to the top but it will be your character that will keep you there.

Categories: Career DevelopmentCore Values

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“Dan led a workshop on “Reaching Your Potential” at our annual Utility Supply Management Alliance conference. Dan led the group through a very specific process on establishing specific goals, (personal, family and professional) and on how to develop a plan of execution and evaluation.

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I had the distinct pleasure of working with Dan for about 2 yrs during his time with Anthem/Amerigroup as a consultant providing executive coaching and professional development support for myself and our leadership team. Dan is an absolute professional and an expert in this field and his engagement with our team helped us transform, particularly in the areas of conflict management/resolution, communication, delegation, trust, and leadership. Dan is candid and sincere and doesn’t shy away from providing direct feedback and a plan that helps you make leaps in your professional development. I found his guidance, tools, and coaching to be a significant factor in my personal and professional development supporting my recent career progression. Above all of his professional skills and years of experience, you can feel and see Dan’s passion for his work and this translates to meaningful and lasting engagement and impact.

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“I thought it was excellent. He’s a great speaker and kept my attention. I also agreed with his points (which always helps!). I liked his take on the type of people we should hire… more emphasis on character than competency; people who want to excel and will settle for nothing less.

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“One of our company’s core values is ’employee development.’ For the past three years Dan has played a significant role in helping us achieve that goal while increasing the leadership capital within our entire company where the business operations include manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing and administration.

As a Christian business man I have a deep desire not only to provide for our employees physical needs but also offer a means for them to develop as a whole person. With Dan’s background and business acumen he has been able to support both their personal and professional development. Everyone that Dan has worked with has expressed tremendous appreciation to our company for providing him to assist in their growth.

If you are interested in nurturing a culture of personal development and improvement I highly recommend Dan to lead that effort.”

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As leaders, we thank Dan Greer.”