Written by David Javitch of Entrepreneur.com
When you recruit and hire new employees, do you often find that you're searching for people just like you? Similar in mannerisms, appearance, intelligence and culture? Perhaps also possessing the same educational background, experiences and maybe even gender, race and religion?
If you do hire employees this way, then rest assured that you're not alone. At the same time, however, you're also just like many bosses who are selling themselves and their companies short.
You are doing what I call "hiring by looking in the mirror."
Let's examine these "mirror-hiring" decisions more closely. There are several very positive reasons to hire "clones." Clearly, you know what you want in a good recruit. You know what works in your company in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, outlooks and behaviors.
In addition, you've noted that your mirror-hires possess proven attributes that have been practical and effective for your organization. You employed people with like personal and professional qualities, throwing away the failures, but keeping the successes. Those policies have led to satisfaction, achievement and profitability.
In brief, you know what leads to top-notch performance and victory. Therefore, it's easy to believe, if you take that philosophy one step further, that the more candidates you hire with your specific set of skills, the more successful you and your company will be. They'll have fewer arguments and need less time to understand each other. They'll communicate better and achieve more. Moreover, they'll probably have similar interests, want to interact more and either work more independently or collaboratively, depending on the culture you've established.
Entrepreneur.com
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