| Tuesday (November 3) is Melbourne Cup Day. Also | | | | (SI) and past-behaviour interviews (PBI) have conflicting |
| known as "The race that stops a nation", it is also a | | | | results as a valid predictor of job performance. Yet |
| public holiday for those fortunate enough to live in | | | | most appointments are based on interviews. |
| Melbourne. | | | | Race Horses |
| Who can forget the amazing three years of | | | | Few punters would pick a horse just based on their |
| consecutive wins by Makybe Diva (2003 - 2005), or | | | | performance in the last race. They will analyse the |
| master trainer Bart Cummings with eleven cup | | | | important variables - form, barrier, jockey, trainer, track |
| winners? | | | | condition. For the Melbourne Cup a key criterion is |
| As I only moved to Australia seven years ago, after a | | | | whether the horse can see out the 3200m distance. |
| decade living in New Zealand, it has been interested to | | | | Just as there is a great science in picking the |
| notice how I became more caught up in all the publicity | | | | Melbourne Cup winner, which involves intense study of |
| prior to the big race. Popular choices at this stage are | | | | superior minds, the search for talent requires a similar |
| horses like Viewed (last year's winner and trained by | | | | disciplined approach. |
| Cummings), Efficient and Alcopop. | | | | Using well constructed psychometric tests, based on |
| Thinking about the race and trying to pick a winner | | | | sound job-based criteria, is critical to identify a star |
| reminded me of the same challenges we as HR | | | | performer for that role. I have covered in a previous |
| people face scouting for top talent. In looking for top | | | | article the need for role clarity. |
| talent, we need to differentiate between show horses | | | | Some talent scouts are better at analysing and |
| and race horses. | | | | screening applicants out, than in identifying top talent. |
| Show Horses | | | | Perhaps this is a function of having to embark on an |
| It really amazes me how some people look at the | | | | elimination process to produce a short-list that has |
| colours of a horse to pick a favourite. | | | | created this paradox where the hiring manager picks |
| Bay coloured horses clearly have the best Cup record | | | | the winner. See my previous article on how long is |
| with 58 wins, including four in the last five years, and | | | | your shortlist. |
| there are 16 in this year's field. Brown horses have | | | | The true talent scout |
| won 36 cups, while chestnuts have won 34. Only five | | | | Few and far between, the true talent scout can pick a |
| greys have won the race, Efficient is the only grey | | | | race horse that will win the race. The key criteria are |
| horse in this year's field. | | | | to match the company, the role and the company. |
| Just because a candidate dresses well, communicates | | | | As I was last week sharing with the VP of HR in a |
| well, with a good education, does not make them a | | | | coaching session, it is a great occasion if you work for |
| winner. Picking a candidate based on impressions | | | | a great boss, in a great company in a great role! |
| during an interview is no different to picking a horse | | | | This article is dedicated to all true talent scouts. May |
| based on colour. | | | | you all be successful in picking winners! |
| Past research have shown that structured interviews | | | | |