Making the right hire: How to recognize talent

Principles of talent

• “Hire the best and get out of their way” means recognizing that the “best” have talents far beyond their resume: Upweight soft skills that take years to master – like someone with experience turning multiple projects around, versus someone with experience speaking at a conference.

• Some people are wired for optimism, those are your leaders and problem solvers. Some are wired for pessimism, and you’ll want to weed those out in the interview phase, or it will spread.

• Someone with a high IQ and internal drive but maybe not all the skills, can learn anything.

• If you’re unsure, it’s a no. If your gut says it’s a yes, listen to that too. Recruiters can poison this finely tuned radar – don’t let them.

• Always pay for a trial of any length of effort (are you asking every candidate to do a trial of any length? Maybe time to rethink that!).

Shortly after moving to LA in the early 2010’s, I turned to the best job board I knew at the time: Craigslist. I replied to a one-sentence ad for a data job and ended up in an empty office in Burbank, shaking hands with the co-founding CEO of Pandora Radio, Jon Kraft, who had recently left to start a new venture with a partner.

“Well, you have enough experience, what do you say you be our first marketer?”

It wouldn’t sink in that he “hired me on the spot” until he did it again right in front of me a few months later.

Hire smart, positive, teachable people over skills experience

I was hiring my first employee and Jon mentored me through the entire process. The part that stuck out the most was when we first interviewed the person whom I’d eventually hire. We asked her to tell us about her background, but she had only recently graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Chicago.

He reached over and paused the giant, round Cisco phone in the middle of our giant, empty conference table:

“We’re hiring her. To do that program, you have to be smart, and you can teach smart people anything.”

That’s the best lesson I’ve been taught in terms of hiring: When talent is talking right at you, pause the phone and recognize it.

It’s not about finding someone with a perfect checklist of skills. It’s about finding someone who is sharp, adaptable, able to take responsibility without a bruised ego, and eager to learn. Skills can be taught, but the right mindset and raw potential? That’s something you just can’t train into someone.

The best hires I’ve made were people who weren’t necessarily the most qualified on paper, but they brought energy, curiosity, and the kind of spark that makes you lean forward and say, “We need them.”

Trust your instinct when it tells you someone has “it,” even if their resume doesn’t spell it out.

Recruiters may be holding you back the most from matching with the right talent

Interviews can be such a rollercoaster. It’s frustrating when the process feels all over the place. For some jobs that don’t seem like a great fit, you get offers right away. But for the roles you’re perfect for, it drags on forever, only for the company to hire someone else with half the experience.

It’s tough not to take it personally, and that’s because hiring is unpredictable, and recruiters aren’t always making the best calls. They’re following a rigid script, that someone else probably put together. They’re scoring against a rubric, rather than feeling out a personality.

Go rogue

When you spot someone with real talent and that special spark, take a moment to dig a little deeper. Don’t be afraid to step away from the usual line of questioning. Skip the standard trial if that feels right.

Instead, think about commissioning a custom project (on your dime) that gives you a better sense of their skills, work style, and what they can bring to your team. Sometimes, it’s worth bending the rules a bit to take a smart chance on the right person.

Trust your gut. It’s usually pretty good at steering you in the right direction.

If you’re unsure, it’s a no

Validate that your skepticism was warranted if you need to by asking more questions around that thing. But if there’s something there that keeps you from feeling all in 100% on this candidate, then you should find one that does.

Hesitation means something is there that is telling you to hesitate. Listen to that thing.

I once convinced an employee not to hire someone who was a little chaotic in the interview because they were going to be expected to work on compliance.

“If they can’t silence their phone during the interview, are they going to catch every flag?”

“They’re dead to us”

When candidates decline, move on. Don’t compare future candidates to them. Each candidate is unique and should be evaluated on their own merits. Don't let one negative experience taint your view of all potential candidates, and don’t bring the ‘one that got away’ up anymore so you can focus on those that are eager to work for you.

Always pay for a trial and always make it the last step

It’s not fair to put every candidate through an assessment when their portfolio should already demonstrate whether their skills align with their resume. A paid trial is a more effective way to evaluate a candidate's skills in action and determine if they are the right fit for the role.

And if you’re making anyone complete any exercise at all without paying, you’ll want to ask yourself why you feel like you have the right to do that.