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Which criteria matter most to a hiring manager?

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Which criteria matter most to a hiring manager?
Knowledge of skill or trade. 5%  5%  [ 1 ]
Minority Status in order for tax benefits. 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Bra size 5%  5%  [ 1 ]
Being a "Good Teamplayer" 32%  32%  [ 6 ]
Smiling like a clown whether or not you feel like it 21%  21%  [ 4 ]
Ability to obey orders which go against company policy and take the blame for it when caught. 16%  16%  [ 3 ]
Ability to work for 168 hours per week straight, 52 weeks per year, 1000 years per millenium. 21%  21%  [ 4 ]
Total votes : 19

iamnotaparakeet
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21 Jul 2010, 11:55 pm

Do you think that in order to be hired that the knowledge of your skill or trade is the primary selection criteria, or are other criteria more important?



conundrum
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22 Jul 2010, 2:38 am

I think it largely depends on the type of company, and the type of person the manager is.


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22 Jul 2010, 4:31 pm

conundrum wrote:
I think it largely depends on the type of company, and the type of person the manager is.


Actually, I think it is only the hiring managers that matter as to initial employment of a worker, and whatever the hiring manager seeks the most from the new worker.



t0
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22 Jul 2010, 6:29 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Do you think that in order to be hired that the knowledge of your skill or trade is the primary selection criteria, or are other criteria more important?


I work in a specialized field so normally I'm not looking for people that have knowledge of the industry. I'd rather work with a clean slate than someone who already has bad habits from their previous job. I'm more interested in people that have handled multi-step tasks and who can explain how they managed those tasks and what steps were taken when things didn't run smoothly.



iamnotaparakeet
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22 Jul 2010, 6:52 pm

t0 wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Do you think that in order to be hired that the knowledge of your skill or trade is the primary selection criteria, or are other criteria more important?


I work in a specialized field so normally I'm not looking for people that have knowledge of the industry. I'd rather work with a clean slate than someone who already has bad habits from their previous job. I'm more interested in people that have handled multi-step tasks and who can explain how they managed those tasks and what steps were taken when things didn't run smoothly.


So, what would you think of someone who was put on assembly, grill, fryers, and expedite during lunch rush for a few times in a row when the mangers were looking for excuses to get rid of me because they personally didn't like me at that McDonald's at that time, and yet I surpassed their regular immigrant crew in terms of both quality and quantity? Would it matter more to you that I could do my job well or would it matter more to you that the other people were looking for excuses to get rid of me?



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23 Jul 2010, 12:00 am

My choice is NOT on this poll :arrow:
Ability to kiss a$$; aka suck-up. They hire people who say what they want to hear :x


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23 Jul 2010, 12:14 am

nick007 wrote:
My choice is NOT on this poll :arrow:
Ability to kiss a$$; aka suck-up. They hire people who say what they want to hear :x


That is definitely an option that I should have listed. It sucks that even after a person is hired, after all the lying required and acting at the interview, they still demand more of that crap continually. It's like, they want a person who can work as hard as Lt Cmdr Data, who can put up with crap like Jesus did at the Crucifixion, who smiles like they're face has been surgically altered beyond recognition of being a human being, who is able to lie pathologically and tell them only what they want to hear, and otherwise a person who is a good doormat. Any deviation from these expectations and it's like painting a bullseye on one's head to be fired.



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23 Jul 2010, 1:20 am

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
It's like, they want a person who can work as hard as Lt Cmdr Data, who can put up with crap like Jesus did at the Crucifixion, who smiles like they're face has been surgically altered beyond recognition of being a human being, who is able to lie pathologically and tell them only what they want to hear, and otherwise a person who is a good doormat. Any deviation from these expectations and it's like painting a bullseye on one's head to be fired.


Can you imagine seeing that list of requirements in a classified ad? :lol:

At least it would be HONEST.


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t0
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23 Jul 2010, 6:24 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
So, what would you think of someone who was put on assembly, grill, fryers, and expedite during lunch rush for a few times in a row when the mangers were looking for excuses to get rid of me because they personally didn't like me at that McDonald's at that time, and yet I surpassed their regular immigrant crew in terms of both quality and quantity? Would it matter more to you that I could do my job well or would it matter more to you that the other people were looking for excuses to get rid of me?


I wouldn't be able to make a decision based on what you've told me. Being able to perform under stress it a positive asset. Having nothing positive to say about your last job is a negative one. I do check professional references, so you'd need to have someone that could say good things about your work.



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23 Jul 2010, 7:35 pm

t0 wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
So, what would you think of someone who was put on assembly, grill, fryers, and expedite during lunch rush for a few times in a row when the mangers were looking for excuses to get rid of me because they personally didn't like me at that McDonald's at that time, and yet I surpassed their regular immigrant crew in terms of both quality and quantity? Would it matter more to you that I could do my job well or would it matter more to you that the other people were looking for excuses to get rid of me?


I wouldn't be able to make a decision based on what you've told me. Being able to perform under stress it a positive asset. Having nothing positive to say about your last job is a negative one. I do check professional references, so you'd need to have someone that could say good things about your work.


Hah, "professional" references. That is a misnomer, since a reference is never "professional" in the hyped-up hypocritical business sense of this era, but whether for good or bad they are always going to be personal references to some degree or another whether it is from a coworker or an employer.



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24 Jul 2010, 10:27 pm

I would add, able to stand around socialising for half the day.

Although on theory, this would be a bad trait, I've found for some people who "network" (read :socialise and gossip and bignote themselves) are seen as better workers than those who have actually got their heads down working. Go figure.



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25 Jul 2010, 1:57 am

For most jobs, none of those are the answer... for most jobs hiring managers look for reliable, long-term work history... if your work history is patchy, sporadic, or non-existent most managers will skip over you in a second.



t0
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25 Jul 2010, 12:55 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Hah, "professional" references. That is a misnomer, since a reference is never "professional" in the hyped-up hypocritical business sense of this era, but whether for good or bad they are always going to be personal references to some degree or another whether it is from a coworker or an employer.


This may be true, but if you can't produce one - there's no way I would hire you. I prefer to get references where there is a manager/subordinate relationship, but obviously that's not always available. So you kind of have to feel-out the reference to see if the information is genuine and/or valuable or not. References tend to lie in not very detailed fashion "they did a good job" and tell the truth in detail "I saw them stay all night to make sure project X got done."

At any rate, I see my job as a hiring manager to 1) hire a good employee and 2) protect my existing team from poor co-workers. I'd rather miss hiring 100 good employees than hire a single poor one.



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25 Jul 2010, 2:48 pm

I picked knowledge of trade or skill-set above all else. Whenever I am looking for a job with a company I always insist on seeing the supervisor I will be expected to work under. Personnel
or HR managers are not the ones who can evaluate your qualifications.


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25 Jul 2010, 6:08 pm

opal wrote:
I would add, able to stand around socialising for half the day.

Although on theory, this would be a bad trait, I've found for some people who "network" (read :socialise and gossip and bignote themselves) are seen as better workers than those who have actually got their heads down working. Go figure.


Yeah, that stinks when the "workers" who spend most of their time getting to be chummy with management and other so-called "workers" tend to get better hours and better reviews than those who actually work.

Although this isn't always the case. At one warehouse where I worked as an order-picker some of the workers didn't talk very much and generally gave hateful looks at me along with the silent treatment, yet they seemed to get along well with the management. (They probably didn't like me because I had an 100% accuracy rate in picking with a moderate rate of picking, whereas they had the freedom to personally select their picksheets [such as a thousand of the same item] and sometimes they still didn't get their orders right because they were too much in a hurry]).



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25 Jul 2010, 6:10 pm

t0 wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Hah, "professional" references. That is a misnomer, since a reference is never "professional" in the hyped-up hypocritical business sense of this era, but whether for good or bad they are always going to be personal references to some degree or another whether it is from a coworker or an employer.


This may be true, but if you can't produce one - there's no way I would hire you. I prefer to get references where there is a manager/subordinate relationship, but obviously that's not always available. So you kind of have to feel-out the reference to see if the information is genuine and/or valuable or not. References tend to lie in not very detailed fashion "they did a good job" and tell the truth in detail "I saw them stay all night to make sure project X got done."

At any rate, I see my job as a hiring manager to 1) hire a good employee and 2) protect my existing team from poor co-workers. I'd rather miss hiring 100 good employees than hire a single poor one.


Then you are not somebody who is worthy of respect. Your rules of thumb and lack of ability to listen when people tell you the truth only serves to ensure the hiring of good manipulators and to inhibit the ability of good workers with poor social skills to have a chance. The people who abrasive doormats tread upon are the ones you'd select against. When somebody turns in a complaint about you and you get fired, don't look to the people you've hurt by your type of "logic" for sympathy, as you deserve to starve and live off of other's charity alone.