Advice for Employers and Recruiters
Key talent strategy: Don’t pass on game changer candidates who are still rookies
Anna Peters
The following are excerpts from “Don’t Pass on Game Changer Candidates who are Still Rookies”, written by talent strategy guru Dr. John Sullivan. Published to College Recruiter blog with permission from Dr. Sullivan.
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Professional sports lead the way in recruiting “game changer” candidates that are still untried rookies, while in the corporate world; most of the inexperienced are simply passed over.
If you’re not familiar with the term “game changer”, they are high-impact hires that soon after joining a team, end up completely transforming it. They quickly move beyond being just top performers because they can be further described using words like stunning, remarkable, exceptional or extraordinary.
Experienced game changers are relatively easy to identify because they have work experience and have a proven track record. But there are also “rookie game changers”. Rookie game changers are individuals that are just entering a new field who are so extraordinary that you are literally “stunned” when you meet them or read about their amazing accomplishments. LeBron James, for example, was identified as a “rookie game changer” while in high school, even though he never played a single game in college or the NBA. In the business world, the youthful Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were all “rookie game changers”. But the sad fact is that most corporate recruiters and hiring managers completely miss out on these “rookie game changers”. College hiring programs usually miss them because they don’t always have excellent academic credentials and experienced hire programs miss them because they lack experience and they haven’t officially held a paid corporate position with a formal title in their field. If you want to capture these rookie game changers, you must put “a lack of experience” at the end of the hiring decision process, rather than at the beginning.
It’s Unfortunate But Most Hiring Managers Pass on Rookie Game Changers
Unfortunately, I frequently see recruiters and hiring managers pass over these extraordinary rookies, even though they are destined to change their industry. For example, as a college professor, each year I select one of these extraordinary students to be my research assistant and TA. And after a year of intense development in recruiting, I am routinely surprised when these “breathtaking individuals” still encounter job rejection simply because they’ve never held the formal title of recruiter. I literally shake my head when firms that actually admit how exceptional these individuals are, still pass on them simply because they have never had a formal corporate recruiting title. Unfortunately, when smaller and lesser-known firms pass on these rookies at the very beginning of their career, they may be passing up their only real chance of ever landing them.
What Makes These Rookie Game Changers Extraordinary?
These rookie game changers may be college students, college dropouts or they may simply be individuals that are trying to enter a new career field. But if you expect to accurately identify them, it’s important to note the factors they have in common that give them their extraordinary potential. In my 35+ years of mentoring, helping interns, rookies and aiding corporations assess talent; I have found that rookie game changers share these characteristics:
- They are accomplishers – their most important characteristic is that they have a proven track record of accomplishing everything they set out to do. They will have already accomplished difficult things that most experienced professionals have not. Their accomplishments are likely to be in school, as volunteers or outside of formal work channels. They also always “find a way” to meet their promises and goals and they love to “own” problems and to manage projects.
- Learning – they are literally “learning machines”. They focus on learning about emerging problems and the best practice solutions to those problems that are utilized by top firms. When you ask them, they always know about the latest trends and practices.
- Passionate – they have a passion and a laser focus on excellence in their field. They don’t see their field as a stepping stone but as a career destination.
- Innovation – they’re not satisfied with the status quo, they push not only for incremental improvement but also for game-changing
- Adaptable – they embrace change and don’t get flustered in a volatile work environment.
- Extraordinary habits – they have extraordinary work habits, which gives them discipline and consistency.
- The glass is half-full and leaking – they see everything as needing continuous improvement and they assume that even successful programs will eventually become obsolete.
- They have manageable egos – even though the work that they have accomplished is stunning, these rookies have manageable egos. They don’t seek credit; they merely strive to be part of a significant change.
Their limited experience may be an asset – the new hire’s lack of direct experience may actually serve as an asset. Because with less history to cloud their vision, they may “see problems in a new way” and from a fresh perspective. This fresh perspective may result in them generating many new ideas and innovations.
It’s Not Difficult To Identify Rookie Game Changers
Obviously, you can’t hire them if you can’t find them. In my experience, the 4 best ways to identify rookie game changers include:
- Ask references to identify them – let’s face it, most reference checks are designed primarily to identify the major faults that the regular candidate might have. But you can’t find a game changer by looking for negatives. Instead, when you think you have a game changer, specifically ask each of their references, “Would you, without hesitation, classify this individual as a game changer, who is an extraordinary individual that stands out because of their stunning capabilities?”
- Ask grad assistants and professors – in my own research I have found that on college campuses, grad assistants and TA’s either know or they are themselves game changers. They can identify top talent better than any Dean or career center. Officers of professional fraternities and clubs are also likely to know them. Professors may know, but they may also be reluctant to reveal the names.
About Dr. Sullivan: Dr. John Sullivan is an internationally known HR thought-leader from the Silicon Valley. He specializes in strategic talent management solutions. He is a prolific author with over 900 articles and 10 books covering all areas of Talent Management. His ideas have appeared in every major business source including the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, HBR, the Financial Times and more. Fast Company called him the “Michael Jordan of Hiring”, Staffing.org called him “the father of HR metrics” and SHRM called him “One of the industries most respected strategists”. Dr. Sullivan is currently a Professor of Management at San Francisco State. Most importantly, he wants to hear and respond to your most pressing questions about advanced talent strategies. His articles can be found all over the Internet and on his popular website www.drjohnsullivan.com and on www.ERE.Net. He lives in Pacifica, California.
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