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Vol 7, No 6, June 2008
Dear Hiring Manager:
Have you ever interviewed a candidate whom you
liked and felt could do the job, but you hesitated on
the hire because you felt they just didn't have a
"certain something" that a past employee in that
position had? It's an unfortunate, but not uncommon,
situation. Its human nature to compare people (ask
my mother!) and this happens all the time in the
hiring process.
But, when excessive comparison stops you from
proceeding on a good candidate, it can hurt you and
your future employee. Read on for some simple
steps
on how to recognize and correct your "extreme
comparison game."

Betsy Harper
Managing Partner
Sales and Marketing Search
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He's No Larry Bird!
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The Celtics are back on top! (Well, almost. First they
have to beat the Lakers.) I love this old rivalry of
LA
vs. Boston.
I love the scrappy Boston fans compared
to the celebs in LA. I love the parquet and I loved Pat
Riley's hair back in the day! I lived through it all more
than 20 years ago as a season ticket holder at the
Garden in the 80s. It was the "Dream Team"
— Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale,
Robert Parish, et al. They were magic — the
only word to describe them.
So it's natural that this past week, every sports pundit
and every sports fan on every sports talk show has
been comparing this new, winning Celtic team to
the old, winning Celtic team! Some say the new
guys are better; most say they are not. Everyone has
an opinion — and a
comparison. As one animated caller barked over the
radio the other day, "Kevin Garnett might be
good, but he ain't no Larry Bird!"
The Extreme
Comparison Game
Is that true? I don't know. But I do know one thing. I
see the same kind of comparison going on in
some companies when they are hiring someone
to fill a spot that has been vacated by someone who
has done a great job. And, while you want to
use the standards that have been set by an
excellent employee as a gauge to vet your crop
of candidates, when past employees take on mythical
proportions, it can hurt your hiring process and
dramatically alter the results.
This extreme comparison can hurt you in three
ways:
- Slows Down Your Search: While you are
hunting for an "exact replica" of a past employee,
unless you have a clone machine, it can be a very
time-consuming process. You may be passing up
legitimate "heirs to the legacy" in your quest for
perfection.
- New Employee "Success Factor": Waxing
eloquent on a past star performer, whether verbally
or in your own mind, may actually shade your
view of your new employee and the very real
contribution he or she is starting to make. Try not
to get yourself into a "Mike did it this way, " or, "Linda
did it that way," mentality. Let your new employee
stand on his own merit. Hold your judgment of him
until his first employee review. It will help him and
you!
- Existing Staff: Remember that the other
people who work for and with you are looking to
you for example and guidance. While extreme
comparison games can be a temporary "bonding"
thing with some of your managers, in the long run, it
tends to hurt the team and maybe even your stature
as a manager and leader. Counsel your team to
refrain.
Remember, when Larry Bird was drafted by Red
Auerbach for the Boston Celtics in 1978, nobody
knew then how fabulously he would perfect his art
and perform for the team (even though they had
never paid as much for a rookie as they paid for Bird).
They had a suspicion — but it was not a
proven fact. I wonder if back then, some late-night
caller on sports talk radio barked into the phone,
"Hey, he might be good, but he ain't no Bob
Cousy!"
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Nothing Succeeds Like Success
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We've loved Constant Contact and their
email marketing solutions for a long time —
exactly 7+ years. They make us shine every month
and let us know how well we are (or not!) doing. So,
we were excited to help them grow their marketing
team with a Direct Response Web Copywriter.
And, if you'd like to find out more about the power of
email marketing, growing your business through
email marketing and the Constant Contact solution,
Sales and Marketing Search is pleased to be
hosting
a free breakfast seminar on Tuesday, June 17 at the
Cummings Center (our
lovely
office park).
It's from 8 to 9:30. Come by and have a cup of coffee,
a bagel, and meet some nice people too.
If you'd like to attend, just give me a call at
978.921.8282 x202 or shoot me an email.
See you there!
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"It Ain't Over Till It's Over"
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I wrote about the Celtics many years ago in a
newsletter talking about keeping all your options
open in the hiring process. It is one of the most
popular newsletters I've done and you can read it here.
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