Hiring for Character: An Interview with Sam Jaddi at ADT

Sam Jaddi , SVP and Chief Information Officer for Smarthome security solutions provider ADT , joined host Oz Rashid on a recent episode of the Hire Learning podcast. In his role, Sam leads digital transformation initiatives to bring this 148-year-old brick-and-mortar business to a digital company with a frictionless experience that meets the needs of today’s tech-savvy consumers.

In this podcast, Sam and Oz explore a wide range of topics: how ADT generates revenue, the difference between a CIO and a CTO, and Sam’s best (and worst!) interview experiences. Most importantly, he describes his hiring philosophy and what he’s learned about hiring and being hired throughout his career.

Sam’s Hiring Philosophy

Sam’s hiring philosophy is simple: character and attitude over aptitude. The candidate must have competencies and capabilities that align with the job, but Sam is looking for more—learning agility, curiosity, and the ability to execute. Many skills and competencies can be learned on the job, but one’s character is innate. It’s the driving force behind culture fit and collaboration. In Sam’s own words, he will hire for character and attitude over genius.

The difficulty, however, is obvious. How do you assess a person’s character during a 30- or 60-minute interview? Sam’s primary strategy is to uncover a candidate’s approach to overcoming challenges that involve or impact multiple people. How a person faces challenges, balances the needs of stakeholders with ideal outcomes, and measures success all reveal a great deal about a person’s character. This line of questioning also sheds some light on a candidate’s values, priorities, and working styles.

The Candidate Experience

No one individual can drive the business forward. That means the hiring of outstanding talent is critically important and must be a top priority for hiring managers and functional leaders. In fact, Sam credits his success in the CIO role to his commitment to hiring the right talent. The problem is most companies get it wrong. They don’t respond quickly enough, they nickel-and-dime great candidates on salary and benefits, or they treat interviews as a bothersome task rather than an opportunity for growth.

The interview experience is a telltale sign of the culture of the company. It can positively or negatively impact the brand’s reputation among job-seekers and potential customers. In today’s highly competitive talent market, the balance of power has shifted. Candidates are looking for more than just a paycheck and are willing to wait for the right opportunity that meets their personal and professional goals.

It really comes down to the old golden rule—treat others as we wish to be treated. If we expect candidates to block out time in their schedules, use up valuable PTO to attend interviews, and spend time doing research or assessments pre-interview, then hiring managers should extend the same courtesy by prioritizing the interview. That means no emails, no phone calls, and no rushing in at the last minute (or joining the remote meeting late).

If the interview is not a hiring manager’s most important hour of the day, it’s noticeable. Candidates feel undervalued; a poor interview experience can sour them on the entire company. It’s also a significant business risk. One individual will not make an entire team, but they could be the difference between success and failure for the team, a project, or an entire department.

Career Advice

Learning and development are fundamental to professional advancement. Sam realized that, throughout his career, he was often advised by managers and peers to seek training on his weaknesses. Reflecting on his career success, however, it became clear that Sam has moved forward by playing to his strengths.

His advice? Look in the mirror. Identify what you do well and focus on those skills and abilities. This is especially important for those early in their careers. The things you do best are your competitive differentiators in a saturated talent market, not ongoing training to close perceived gaps in experience. As your career progresses, it will become clear what skills gaps need to close to continue advancing. As a bonus, those who build their careers on what they do best will find more job satisfaction than those that end up in a frustrating cycle of learning new things that may or may not be relevant to their future careers.

To hear more of Sam’s thoughts on the hiring process, including why he loves interviewing over a meal, what he actually does all day, and how he manages to make time for everyone, listen to the full episode of Hire Learning: Sound the Alarm! How Your Hiring Processes Rob You of Top Talent. Click here!