Bubble Watch: Which employee would you hire?
It’s almost February. Which, if you’re a college basketball fan, means it’s almost March. And for the next few weeks we’re going to see a lot of big games and a lot of those Bubble Watch graphics on ESPN. You know, the ones where they don’t tell you who the two teams are, but show their numbers side by side and ask who you think deserves to be in the NCAA tournament.
So in honor of it is almost being February, I figure we’re do a March Madness Bubble Watch post. And I have just the topic. Here goes. Read the descriptions below of Candidate 1 and Candidate 2 and let me know who you would hire.
Candidate 1
Criteria rated on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best
Offline social network: 8
Facebook presence: 9
Twitter presence: 9
Blog: 10
Understanding of top social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram): 9
Strategic planning: 3
Writing: 4
Organized: 4
Presentation skills: 2
Ability to have a tough conversation: 3
AGGREGATE SCORE: 58
Candidate 2
Criteria rated on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best
Offline social network: 3
Facebook presence: 2
Twitter presence: 2
Blog: 0
Understanding of top social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram): 3
Strategic planning: 8
Writing: 8
Organized: 7
Presentation skills: 8
Ability to have a tough conversation: 8
AGGREGATE SCORE: 49
Candidate 1 has the higher aggregate score by nine points. But I’ll take Candidate 2 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I am seeing a lot of millennials — I’m a millennial btw, for those who think I’m stereotyping — with similar profiles to Candidate 1 these days. Here’s a hard lesson I had to learn a few years back in my career:
Your ability to tweet and Facebook and the fact that you have a lot of friends online means jack if you can’t write, present, develop a proposal, have a tough conversation with a client, make strategic decisions, measure what you’ve accomplished…I could go on and on.
A few months back, I wrote a post about the most important characteristic in a new hire. And I said, without hesitation, it was their online and offline network. Well, I was wrong. I take it back. Because a person with an awesome network who’s really good at Twitter but can’t think strategically or manage client work is kind of like a No. 2 seed that gets upset by a No. 15.
There were two of those in the tourney last year, if you recall.
sue_anne Yes, Sue Anne, good distinction. I think I was somewhere in between. I have seen people who don't write well but are very connected have a lot of people comment on their posts. That doesn't necessarily mean they're the right person for a client-facing job. Just like their large Facebook friend list doesn't.
Who am I?
I'm a business communications consultant at Fleishman-Hillard. I used to call myself a PR professional, but I don't use that term anymore because people hear PR and they think only media relations.We do a lot more than that at Fleishman-Hillard Kansas City (FHKC). I specialize in social media, but am trying hard to brush up on my measurement and analytics. Every strategic consulting conversation should start with your business goals and how communications can help you reach them. My motto: "Your brand is what your customers say it is." 
Interesting that for Candidate 1 you rate their blog a 10, but their writing a 4. Was the blog score more about their network and which bloggers / blogs they knew and read vs their actual production on a blog?
Especially with "digital babies" / millenials, the online social networks are a commodity. If you're a 20-something college student and don't have a Facebook friend list approaching 1000 -- especially if you plan on working in social media or PR -- that should cause a second look. But, someone having a lot of friends on Facebook is equivalent to being able to turn on a computer.
When all the social hype fades, it really all comes down to the basics: time management, customer service (both internal and external), and writing. Everything else is just a tool in how they get the job done.
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