Some HR Professionals Are Stuck In The Stone Ages
Why do people "job hop"?
It is a pretty intuitive question. It is because they do not like their job, the people they work with, and/or their boss, or they are under 30 years old.
Furthermore... People who do not like their job turn into people who do not like their boss and the people they work with.
Unfortunately, our universities are adept at pumping out graduates with degrees that students are not "wired" for. As the graduates enter the workforce, they often soon discover - sometimes through multiple positions - that the career they spent 4-5 years preparing for is not suited for them.
Then a HR "professional" who does not use a personality test with a Job Benchmark hires the graduate who has the degree but does not fit the job in terms of Behaviors, Values, and Attributes. The new graduate is now the new hire, and they have been "sentenced" to a few months to a few years of hell on earth doing something they really are not wired to do.
Bummer.
Much has been written about Generation Y and their "job hopping". "Job hopping" has become much more acceptable in the last several years.
Yet why do some HR "professionals" continue to screen candidates and throw perfectly good candidates out so quickly due to perceived "job hopping"?
There are four reasons that come to mind.
- Actually looking more deeply at a candidate with a "job hopping" history takes time and many HR professionals are pressed for time - too much to do - too little time.
- Some HR professionals are stuck in the "land of the lost" - stuck in time from when they went to college, became certified - where "job hopping" = bad candidate.
- Some HR professionals believe their "gut doesn't lie" and that their gut is somehow more accurate than a valid personality test.
- And yes, some HR professionals are just plain lazy.
Thanks to the antiquated logic of some HR professionals, there are high quality "job hopper" candidates being passed over who could make a real contribution.
There are babies being thrown out with the bathwater!
To those HR people who do not get it - that "job hoppers" are not necessarily all bad - I recommend looking past the "job hopping" on the resume' and look at the potential of the human being behind the piece of paper. Slow down. Take the time.
And while I am on my short rant... I realize that many in HR believe still believe they have the "secret sauce" - the magic wand - the ability to judge people without a valid personality test.
Poppycock!
There are multiple studies that strongly suggest that human beings are biased - even when they think they are not being biased - human beings are, in fact, biased.
Valid personality tests - when compared to a Job Benchmark are not biased.
A valid personality test can actually provide insights into why a "job hopper" changes jobs frequently. If you are interested in how, I would be happy to show you.
If you are not using a valid personality test with a Job Benchmark, you are guessing during the selection process - especially with "job hoppers". Hiring talent without a personality test is just plain not very intelligent (ie: stupid).
