Overheard in a department store women’s dressing room: “Well, if I hold my breath and suck in my tummy, can you get the zipper up?” Well, you know the end to that story! No one should buy a garment that is uncomfortable and ill-fitting. And no employer should hire a candidate to do a job for which they are ill-suited, whether on a full-time or temporary basis. In our last post, Is Hiring the Right Candidate the Luck of the Irish?, we addressed the importance of clarifying expectations for the position to be filled and carefully developing the job description based on those expectations. In this post, we’ll talk about one of the important tools we use to measure the fit of the candidate’s skills and experiences and the job description: the T-chart.
We’d like to tell you that the “T” in T-chart stands for Talencio, but actually it’s a technique that’s been around forever. No one knows who developed the T-chart approach for evaluation, but Benjamin Franklin used it often in his decision making, assigning the left column to “pro” arguments and the right column to “con” arguments. A T-chart is actually just a two column chart – a way to compare what’s in the left column with what’s in the right one. It’s how we use the T-chart at Talencio that is distinctive.
After we’ve worked with the client to clarify the expectations for the position and developed a position description, we consider that job description to be like the company’s request for proposals (RFP). We parse the various components of the job description (or RFP requirements) and enter each requirement in a cell on the left of the T-chart, under the heading Company’s Requirements. When we’ve narrowed the field to the three-or-so candidates whom we think might meet our clients’ needs, we ask each to complete the right column of the T-chart, labelled Qualifications, with specifics about how they meet every one of those needs, providing examples from their past work experiences. Note that this is not an exercise in checking the box. It takes time and considerable thought for the candidate to complete the T-Chart. Everyone understands that it takes time to respond to an RFP.
When we send our recommended candidates’ credentials to our client company, their T-chart response accompanies their resume. In the end, both the employer and the candidate will have a much clearer picture as to the match for the position. Additionally, the candidate will be viewed favorably by the company because they reduced the difficult work the employer has searching through a candidate’s resume to align experience and skill with the job requirements. We routinely use this methodology and find that it yields good information from which to make a decision.
At Talencio, we’re invested in the success of the Life Science industry and we’d like your company to be successful, too. To learn more about how other Life Science companies have partnered with us to overcome hurdles and capacity issues, and make well-informed hiring decisions, contact me at 612.703.4236 or email me at: pnorbom@talencio.com. Talencio, LLC has been the preferred provider of vetted, accomplished professionals to the Life Sciences community for more than seven years.
Sources:
How to Make a Decision like Ben Franklin. by Brett and Kate McKay, August 17, 2009.
How to Make Decisions like Benjamin Franklin. By Fred Nickols.