Hiring: Where to Start?
Hi, it’s Victor Cheng. Today I want to talk about two quick tips and strategies for smart hiring and recruiting.
First thought is: when you hire — in your company, in your department, in your division, whatever context you are hiring in — you always want to be very aware of your weaknesses.
One useful staffing strategy is to hire people who are very good at the things you stink at. For example, I have a great appreciation for attention to detail. The problem is I’m not very good at it personally. So, I have surrounded myself with a team of individuals who are all very, very good at attention to detail because that’s one of my big weaknesses.
Second strategy is: when you are trying to recruit somebody with a unique set of skills and you are having difficulty… I always use the example of trying to hire somebody who is a rocket scientist and is also a fashion model. Those skills sets by themselves are difficult to find, let alone both skills sets in one individual.
In those situations, it makes sense to consider splitting the role. Rather than one new hire, one person on the team who can be your company’s spokesperson and a rocket scientist, it makes sense sometimes to split the role into two different individuals. So, one rocket scientist and one model who can maybe perhaps be a spokesperson, that kind of a thing.
The reason to do that is because sometimes when you go out to the labor market, the particular configuration of skills you want doesn’t really naturally always fit in a single human being. Or if it does, it’s extremely rare and extremely expensive.
The strategy there when that doesn’t work, is to split the role. And that’s why when you staff and you build out your teams, the way you do it is a bit dynamic. Meaning, you need all the skills to exist on your team to be successful, but you may not necessarily need all those skills to exist within one person on your team. As you hire one person, it can sometimes change what you are looking for in the other people.
Those are my two tips for today. Let me know what you think about this video blogging format. It’s a little new for me. I’m obviously in my car, waiting for my kids to be done with their various school activities. It’s a great way for me to get more content out more easily. Let me know if you like it or not. Any constructive feedback would certainly be very much appreciated. Thanks, and have a great day.
I like the video, thank you. Excellent idea.
I prefer the email format. More information can be conveyed in less time through the written word compared to speech. Your emails are brief and concise. I appreciate that. I almost always read them. It is much faster to read your emails than watch a video. I doubt I would always watch your videos. It is nice to see you, but once or twice will do.
Videos use more data then emails. Videos and movies with their high data cost drive demand for 5G which is destroying life.
Victor, I appreciate everything that you share with us. It is simply invaluable. The video format works perfect. You are so authentic and real, it blows my mind. Thank you for your generosity!
This was very efficient! Very interesting content, served in a bite size format, which every person on the go can consume in no time! Please keep it coming!
Love the new format and happy to see victor moving into short-span digital mediums. 🙂
Please keep it coming.
Ayman
Hi Victor, I’ve always enjoyed your content. Glad to see that you have finally embraced video blogging, I almost thought you would never do it, lol. I definitely like it because it feels like you are building a more personal connection through the video. Great job on the first attempt, keep ’em coming Victor. Have a great day.
Hi Victor,
I think the video is a great idea. My work requires me doing a lot of reading, so as you can imagine, I do appreciate some none-reading time after work. The video format allows me to get some great tips from you without doing any reading. At the sams time, I can read the texts if I choose to.
Thanks for all your guidance and keep on being the role model as you are!
Lin Wang
I like it. It’s informal and casual.
thanks for video sharing…definitely it is more impactful than text. also you can try out audio so that i can rest my eyes 🙂
I like the format. Seeing you express your thoughts makes it more personable. At first, I was a little surprised by the format of shooting the video in your car – it seemed oddly not manicured. But as you continued to speak, my attention shifted to the content and the rest was cursory. Bringing it up towards the end and soliciting constructive feedback was a balanced acknowledgment of the somewhat unorthodox format, but also enhanced the accessibility to you as a person. Lastly, I think it boosts your brand i.e. “This guy must be really smart if he has two ideas worthy of sharing with his subscribers, just sitting in his car waiting for his kids.”