Hiring someone is like dating.
I was watching reruns of Jersey Shore last night (yes, I know it is my guilty pleasure). The women on the show do not generally get treated very well by the men they date.
The men on the show bring home women, schmoosh, and then get them out the door as soon as possible.
But most of us who see it from the outside realize that these women are all picking men who act the same way. The women choose the sharp looking man who says exactly what the woman want to hear.
Many hiring managers do the exact same thing. They choose the best looking, most charismatic person to work for them.
They are then surprised when the employee lied during the interview, or turns out to not be as good as they said they were.
Some people are very good at representing themselves. They could convince a stranger they were the president of a country if they wanted to. They use these skills to get exactly what they want, taking the easiest route possible.
Once the men have the woman hooked, they get what they want and never give the women what they want. The women are disappointed, but then go after the exact same type of man and are disappointed yet again.
If you choose the wrong employee they will probably mislead you into thinking they are doing more than they are actually accomplishing. This is why many businesses owners leave it to the staffing pros for their recruiting needs.
A wrong hire can set you back.
This may mean an employee who doesn’t do their paperwork, manipulates statistics, or steals your customers from you. They know how to make things look in their favor and you will be very happy with their ‘performance’.
If you want to be surrounded by yes men who have their own secret agendas, hiring the best looking and charismatic person may be your best bet.
If you need an outside salesman, this type of person may be ideal. But if you are hiring an accountant, analyst or something that requires thinking or interpreting information, you may want to go past the appearance and charms, and see what skills the person actually has.
A person who is very skilled will tend to see their flaws a lot more than someone who is a novice.
So if you go for the good looking charismatic candidate, you may be being played just as much as the girls on Jersey Shore.