Thinking outside the square when assessing candidates.

I thought it appropriate with all the discussion I’m seeing about career change, recruitment, and candidate assessment, that I tell this interesting and very factual story.

Back in early 2002 I received a phone call from an out of work IT sales person asking whether he could meet with me to discuss a possible sales role in our company based in the Sydney Head Office. I told him there were no current openings but as he had previously worked for a competitor some 18 months prior, I agreed to meet with him.

Well, he turned up at the interview in casual clothing carrying a back-pack and explained quite convincingly that he was moving house and had packed all his suits away which were in transit. Otherwise he seemed well presented so that was not a real issue for me. However, it got interesting from there!

Firstly, he led off by telling me that he loathed IT sales and really wanted to be a global food billionaire. He had just come out of a failed restaurant venture which he funded from his previous success in IT sales and wanted to now build his “stake” again and go back to that strategy. The restaurant was a curry house and he was the chef/owner, focusing on ayurvedic cooking! His intent was to secure a role and make himself, and my company, as much money as possible in just a couple of years such that we would be happy and he could then leave and pursue his dream.

After the shock of these revelations begun to ease, we continued the conversation and several attributes appeared. Clearly, this guy was hungry: it turned out he was flat broke and sleeping at friends’ houses! He also shared that his wife had left him to go back overseas to his in-laws, taking his 2 young children with her. He wanted to get back on his feet to entice his wife and children back: that is real hunger.

Secondly, he was obviously an extremely talented salesperson having had much previous success and being able to espouse sales strategy particularly well. Finally, he said that he would regard himself as very much in my debt if he was to secure a role and would ensure he did not ever let me down.

Almost despite my better judgement but based on a gut feel, I said to him “I don’t have an opening in Sydney but I am willing to move on an underperforming salesperson in Brisbane to make a spot for you, how do you feel about that?” His response was “when do I start”.

The way the story turned out is that this guy stayed with the company for 8 years and for 5 of those he was the top-selling salesperson. He was moved into different territories on more than one occasion and made a success of each of them, blazing and building a new business where we had none previously. His wife and children returned from overseas within the first year or so and they re-connected.

Throughout this time, he continually reminded me of his obligation to not let me down and he never did. It was a pleasure working with him and he has worked with me again since. And he is still in IT sales despite retaining an interest to maybe get back into the food business.

The moral of the story is that even though we try to fit people into certain categories that we believe will lead to them being successful, and apply rules by which we will measure that potential, sometimes it’s just about attitude, persistence, and gut feelings.

PS His suits never were in transit; he had gotten rid of them when he went into the restaurant business thinking he’d never need them again. Consequently, one of the first things he did before starting with us was to borrow some money and buy a suit!