***Find the Right Mindset

Finding someone with the right mindset for a job should not be an accident. Obviously, you must first determine just what the right mindset for the job is. Then you need to use job ads to attract the right mindset and repel the wrong one. Interview using simple questions that help you learn about more than the applicant's work history and experience. You also want to identify the sort of intangibles that reveal the applicant's mindset.nnTo determine the right mindset for the job, you need to identify what values are key to the position. Customer service people have to like people. Installation, repair, and service people have to like activities. Researchers have to like knowledge. Buyers have to like things. Sales people usually have to like people and they usually like getting and having things.nnThink about the job you want to fill. What does the person in this job need to value to be successful? Next, think about the employee's motivation in this job. Do they need to set their own goals and be self-motivated (e.g., sales), or do they need to follow detailed procedures repeatedly (accounting, invoicing, etc.)? Do they need to be able to come up with new and potentially revolutionary ideas (e.g., new product development), or do they need to improve on current products, services, or systems of production (e.g., quality improvement).nnThe job ad is a crucial tool for finding employees with the right mindset. The well-composed job ad can do a lot to weed out those who may have the right qualifications, but the wrong mindset. In a sales job, for example, by giving your phone number and not your address you can eliminate anyone who doesn't have the drive to pick up the phone and contact you directly. If a job applicant can't call you, he or she can't call a prospect. The people who call first are the doers; the ones that call later are the thinkers.nnThe right job ad can attract or repel potential applicants. Are you looking for problem solvers who would rather fix declining sales than achieve new sales goals; followers who can't decide for themselves; innovators who can't follow processes; thinkers who need to deliberate; or revolutionaries who can't stand incremental improvements of systematic ways of doing things.nnDuring interviews, you can use simple questions to determine whether the applicant's mindset matches your position. If you ask: “What's important to you about selling?” and the interviewee never mentions people, he or she isn't a good fit. If you ask “How do you know if you've done a good job?” and get "people tell me" in response, the person can't make decisions and set goals independently. The idea behind this is first to design the job, then choose the right mindset to fill the position.