Taking wise risks for hiring top performing engineers
What is better?
- Always hoarding your cash in your basement because we are risk averse and don't trust "them" banks/stock markets and don't invest in any instruments at all, or
- Having a diversified portfolio across stocks, fixed deposits, gold, real estate, mutual funds and cash which distributes and mitigates your risks? Sure, some asset class may go down every now and then, but there will be another asset class that would do well and balance it out.
I prefer the 2nd approach. And this works for hiring as well - there will be times when concerns will be raised during final interview assessment. One guiding light here can be Job Description (JD) - its important that hiring manager measure the concerns raised against what is needed for the candidate to have a strong performance appraisal at the end of the year. Its well known that top performers with major past accomplishments continue to be motivated to stay at the top wherever they are and will be willing to learn new skills on the job while delivering solid results. This is also discussed at length in Best hires are passionate engineers with major past accomplishments and How should one write a performance-based JD to attract and hire top engineers?.
Hiring manager should not take unwise risks when evaluating candidates but should be willing take calculated and wise risks when needed. More about this has been discussed at length in 5 well-balanced tips to follow for hiring top performing engineers.
It takes plenty of money and time to interview a candidate. We don't want to hire mediocrity but all effort should be taken to see that we are not losing a top performer, which otherwise would not be frugal. We have to ensure that we are doing justice to both the candidate and the company, which stands to gain most if it were to hire such a top performer.
What do you think? Please share your valuable thoughts in the comments section below.
Disclaimer: All the postings and views on this site are my own and has no bearing whatsoever on my employer's position.
