What's the "AHA!" REPORT all about?

This series of newsletters contains AHA! information to help people and organizations hire the best employees, make the best promotion decisions, retain the most qualified people, maintain the widest applicant pool, follow best practices, and (if you are subject to US law) remain aware of EEOC hot-spots.

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From Nathan Hale to Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, Americans have always loved heroes, especially in times like these. Military men and women are considered heroic almost by definition. And rightly so. But the widely-held idea the military service automatically makes someone a “slam-dunk” job candidate, while patriotic, is based on a serious misconception.

I spent a few years in the military and have the highest respect for those who put their lives on the line. I encourage every employer, if given a choice between two equally qualified candidates, to hire the vet. However, assuming that a person is job-qualified because he or she was in the military can seriously affect recruiting decisions. It’s essential to look at the person beneath the halo.

Halos, Horns, and Hiring
Human beings seem to have a talent for making sweeping conclusions based on a single data point. Applied to people, this is called either the “halo” effect (when an entire assumption is based on one positive trait) or the “horns” effect (when an entire assumption is based on one negative trait). Advertisers and other manipulators of opinion are masters at using halos and horns.

Halos
Halos occur every time a company puts a celebrity in front of a camera. For example, Sam Waterston recommends investment advisors, and Michael Phelps pitches virtually everything. I have no idea if Sam can even do basic math, and we all have doubts about Michael’s judgment. Nevertheless, because Sam is extremely credible and Michael is heroically accomplished, halos encourage us to assume that they are also experts outside their chosen fields.

Recruiters and hiring managers are influenced by halos as soon as they form a subjective opinion about an applicant. Think about the first-impression rule. The interviewer assumes that because the applicant looks good, sounds good, or is tall, he or she is job-skilled. The halo force is just as strong, or stronger, and makes it easy to forget there may be no substantial evidence to support our opinion.

Horns
On the flip side, the horns effect results from over-focusing on the negative. It happens when we see one typo on a resume and conclude the candidate must be illiterate.

Horns are popular tools among political spin doctors and other character assassins. The important thing to remember about horns is that a little bit of negative information can be just as misleading as a little bit of positive.

On the Job
If you’re a recruiter whose only responsibility is to source candidates, then the effect of halos and horns on your decisions is unimportant. However, if you also make recommendations about whether a candidate has job skills, and expect to be paid for your professional expertise, then you cannot afford to make sweeping generalizations. Doing so means that unqualified people will be hired and qualified applicants will be turned away.

Let’s examine the halo effect in a military context. According to conventional wisdom, military people are characterized by discipline, character, and leadership. These are all admirable qualities. But the military job I had was also characterized by severe physical demands and life-threatening tasks; a massive influx of inexperienced people and high turnover; a detailed set of standard operating procedures for everything; rigorously following orders; sacrificing anything to complete the mission; and severe penalties for disobedience.

It’s a good idea to remember the predictive accuracy of past performance is highest only when it closely resembles future performance. Past experience in the military is a highly accurate predictor for future performance -- in the military. Does successful military experience ensure job success anywhere else? Nope. Job skills do.

Past experience of any kind can be a sand-trap of halos and horns. It only becomes trustworthy when the hiring manager or recruiter can translate “skills used in the ABC job” into “skills needed for the XYZ job.”

Other Halo-based Assumptions
Halo-based hiring assumptions extend beyond the military. Consider athletics. Halos suggest that an accomplished athlete would also make a good employee. Everyone likes a winning attitude. Hire an athlete!? Maybe.

Top athletes are select people with extraordinary physical talents and the competitive drive to win at any cost. As every professional athlete knows, competition for slots on any serious team is cutthroat. They are not so much “team” players as they are individuals who play on a team. Would you enjoy working in a company where every associate was hired for their cutthroat competitive drive?

But don’t let the horns encourage you to turn away athletes, either. Athletic ability does not ensure job success. Job skills do.

Even Crazier Assumptions
Halos and horns come in all shapes and sizes. I once knew a boss who would only hire people with favorable astrological charts; one who would not hire anyone who drove a VW bug to the interview; one who would not hire an applicant who parked his service truck between the white lines; and a sales manager who would not hire an applicant unless he or she asked for the job during the interview. The list goes on.

Do astrology, auto preference, parking technique, or interview behavior ensure job success? Nope. Job skills do.

What to Do? What to Do?
Recruiters and hiring managers are hired for their ability to make good hiring decisions. That is, hiring decisions that are correct most of the time. And they use tests all the time. People are considered (or not) based on resumes, application forms, and interviews. The problem with each of these tools is that they include a hearty portion of subjective opinion, and subjective opinion is affected by halos and horns.

Professional musicians often audition behind curtains. Why? This practice helps the decision-makers focus on the music, not the person. For all they know, the violinist behind the curtain could have one big eye in the middle of their forehead (no offense to members of the Cyclops family), or look like Jessica Alba. Only the music matters.

‘Behind the curtain’ recruiting includes converting job requirements into lists of measurable competencies, using behavioral interview technology, and validated tests designed to predict job performance such as simulations, cognitive ability tests, technical knowledge tests, and so forth. Oh, yes, and be sure to follow the MTMM method.

“That’s nuts! It’s too hard!” I hear you cry.

Think of it this way: you only have to follow this advice if you care about making an accurate hiring decision. Otherwise, you can always fall back on halos and horns.