I am often asked questions regarding interviewing and hiring in the workplace. It is one of the most important and most difficult roles of the senior executive when building a successful business. Of course, when a search begins for an attractive, well paying position with a good company, there will be many candidates who are simply not qualified that will apply for the position. The key is to closely examine the résumé of every candidate and eliminate exaggeration, fluff, and lies to get to the core of the quality of the candidate in front of you.

 

As an example, let’s turn to the 2008 Presidential election and examine the qualifications of the three leading candidates. They all speak clearly and eloquently about how perfect they are for the position, but let’s dig beneath the methane-soaked surface and try to determine which of these are really solid candidates. As a reminder, the qualifications we are looking for are as follows: