We’ve written about defining a job based on role rather than position To Hire, Make Your Job Definition “100”, and this time we take a look at a similar method, but one that also can be used by job seekers: looking at skill set rather than job definition.
A sports analogy should help clarify the basic concept. You have three people in front of you. One is a 6 feet 10 inches tall and jumps well; another is 6 foot 4 inches tall and burly and the third is 6 foot 7 inches tall and a fast runner. Should all three play basketball? You know the answer: no. (Otherwise this article ends right here.) Of the three, the tallest could be Randy Johnson, Hall of Fame pitcher and Peter Crouch, English soccer star, while the “shrimp” in the group could describe Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.
In sports, it’s obvious that skill set trumps “job description,” giving us NBA players under 6 feet tall and baseball players nearly 7 feet tall. Sire, there’s a “type” for each position, so you couldn’t really have a basketball center who’s 5 feet 8 inches tall or a football center who weighs 140 pounds. But sports of all kinds are filled with major stars and all-time greats who did not fit the “type”, making their marks because of their skill set.
You can do the same for your company if you are filling job openings. By looking at the skill set rather than the job “type,” you can expand your A-quality candidate search in a focused manner. (We’ll let you in on a secret: this is what Sharpline does in its placement methodology. Please don’t tell anyone unless you have to. Or really really want to. We’ll understand.) With more high-level candidates to choose from, you are in better shape to find the person who brings the “Wow.”Don’t Hire for “Now”: Hire for “Wow“.
If you’re a job seeker, you might be focusing too hard on title or position because you want to ensure you aren’t “dropping down” a taking a step backward on the corporate ladder. Here’s the thing: Unlike in sports, the business world’s job titles and position labels can be very different from one company or industry to another. Therefore, take a look at your skill set, what you do really well and love to do as often as possible, and evaluate how you can bring that to job positions that aren’t currently on your list. You’ll probably find good matches fairly quickly and discover a whole new job market opening in front of you.
Skill sets offer great and consistent value that could have very little relationship to the job description. That’s the fun part, and it becomes even more fun when the benefits have a significant positive impact in your bottom line.
By Gil C. Schmidt, Sharpline Contributor
