I recently watched a video featuring Jennifer Walzer. She is the CEO of Backup My Info.  Jennifer was speaking to Inc.com about hiring practices at her company.  She requires all resumes to be accompanied by a joke.  Why a joke? Well, her tactic is very smart.  First, if there is no joke attached to a resume then she knows the candidate didn’t follow instructions. And if a candidate can’t follow instructions on a task that could bring him or her money- they will not respect the company they work for. Second, if the joke is racists or pornographic- she doesn’t want this candidate possibly saying something vulgar or offensive to a client. Basically, if the candidate is dumb enough to repeat it to HR, they are a huge company liability and shouldn’t be hired.

I couldn’t agree more. The joke tip is a great tip to help employers toss out candidates not right for a company’s culture- even if the candidate is qualified for the position.  Fitting in at a job is just as important as knowing how to perform the tasks associated with the position. Many employers today’s aren’t considering this and end up having a huge turnover.

As we head into another Monday, consider developing a tactic (like Jennifer did) to help you spot candidates who may be qualified to work for your company but aren’t going to fit in with its culture. As always, Building Team Solutions is available to help you with this practice.

Britanie Olvera, CEO

http://www.inc.com/jennifer-walzer/hiring-interviewing-weed-out-job-applicants.html