The Specification Trap

During his legendary career, the late Robert Half, in a Boardroom Reports article warned companies about setting rigid and arbitrary job qualifications.We’ve all looked at some ridiculous job specs generated by companies and we have written extensively about how to overcome the problems.Bob’s advice to companies is as useful to us in getting employers realistic about their talent needs:“Is it absolutely essential, for instance, that a candidate have five years experience? Isn’t it possible that a better candidate might have learned more in four years, or even three, than a lesser candidate would learn in five? The key point here is to look beyond irrelevant rigid specifications, and concentrate fully on finding the best candidate: someone who has the ability to do what needs to be done, and is willing to work hard and learn.”