How to hire the right person when you have too many candidates?

Okay.  Scenario.  You wanna hire an Account Manager - so it would be someone who's got some level of leadership, a team player, able to decipher complicated tasks from the Account Director which usually comes in the form of a Morse Code and break it into understandable tasks where they and the Account Executive can work on, able to put things together and get it organised and present it back to their boss.

There are 5 candidates.  All Senior Account Executives with similar agency experience and operational skills.  But what you need are 'invisible' skills and they are usually not stated in resumes or extravagantly exaggerated otherwise.

And your enemy is time.  You need this guy like yesterday and interviewing all 5 means you'll have to drown in your own team planning incompetency together with all of your other projects at hand.

So what do you do?

Tick tock tick tock tick tock.

Easy peasy.  Get all 5.  Put them into a room with a two-way mirror (if your agency doesn't have this crazy surveillance room, then a spy camera would do).  You might want to inform them of the camera, in case they found out they didn't get the job, you might get sued to Timbuktu.  So as I was saying, get all 5 of them.  Put them into this room which you can observe them remotely and give them a 30 minutes to an hour task.  Give them a problem of which all 5 will have to agree on a common solution.  Tell them they're free to do whatever they want and you'll be back in an hour to 'hear out the solution'.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock.

Now sit back, relax and evaluate.

All 5 people, and everyone knows only 1 will get the job.  So there is some kind of tension already in the group.  So observe who is the natural leader in the group, who opposes with facts and who without facts, who are the followers, who are the 'whatevers', who are the limelight grabbers, who are the thinkers, who are the idea jotters, who are the yes people, who are the mavericks, who are the smartypants and who are the actual smart ones.

There.

I think you have an ideal candidate in mind already.

;)

Jobs in Dentsu Utama, updated 26/04/12.

(Last update on 26th April 2012)

If any of the following hits a note with you (or someone you know), please direct enquiries here.

1) Account Director: To oversee our key Electronics account, handling a team of Senior Account Manager, 2 Account Managers, a Senior Account Executive and an Account Executive.  Obsessive constructive leadership is absolutely necessary.  People prone to emotional breakdowns need not apply.

2) Senior Account Manager: To handle our 2-wheeler account with primary focus to expand.  Driven and enjoys travelling.  Being able to converse in local dialect automatically adds 10-points to your score.  People who know how to drink and socialize but can't do sh*t need not apply.

3) Account Manager:   To handle three reasonably-sized accounts: Pharmaceutical, Automotive-related industry and FMCG/alcohol. Someone who has experience in a media agency is preferred.  With knowledge and experience in PR (I mean the discipline, not drinks with clients) adds 10-points to your score.  Driven to expand current business.  People who say they know media but don't know how GRPs are calculated need not apply.

4) Senior Account Executive: To work on women and baby products, working closely with a shared Senior Account Manager and a dedicated Senior Account Executive to manage the client and be apt to business growth opportunities.  Preferably female for obvious reasons (but hey if you think you can hack it but are born a bloke, why not).  People who are attention-deficit and always need to be recognised for menial work done, need not apply.

5) Associate Planning Director: 2nd in line to the Planning Director.  To assist in overseeing the planning department when the Planning Director is away and handle a telco account independently.  Looking for someone who has a good track record in either winning new business and/or expanding existing accounts.  Leadership is commendable.  Needs to be adept in research methodologies and practices.  People who hold two titles; one their actual position and the other called something like 'Strategist' need not apply.

6) Senior Planner/Senior Planning Manager: To primarily manage our automotive account (both 4 and 2 wheeler) and assist in other small accounts as well as pitches.  Needs to be adept in marketing and research.  People who want to experiment with planning because they dislike being a suit, need not apply (and refer to number (5)).

6) Planning Intern: Coordinator for the planning department, assist in research and basically a management trainee.  Strawberry-generation mindset (poke, bruise, cry) need not apply.  By the way, if I have to talk to your parents, I will.  Trust me.

7) Digital Media Marketer: To market creative concepts in the digitalsphere with adept knowledge in (minimally) GA, online media channels, KPI-setting and ROI measurement.  Able to produce digital-translation of integrated campaigns is a major plus point.  People who can only plan and can't execute (or vice versa) need not apply.

8) Mid-heavy weight creative: Art + Senior Copywriter + Designer (team of three) to work with a dedicated planner of similar weight.  Primary role is to push the creative envelope, producing strategically sound integrated campaigns for an Electronics account.  People who cannot ideate and try to cover up by using vavavoom execution, need not apply.

9) Mid-weight creative team: Art + Copy + Designer (team of three) to work with a dedicated planner of similar weight.  Primary role is to push the creative envelope, producing strategically sound integrated campaigns for an Automotive account.  Primadonnas need not apply.

10) Content strategist and writer: To plan and write for publication and engagement (both printed and digital).  Huge opportunity to grow in content creation.  Copywriters whose sizzle fizzles after 3 lines, need not apply.

People with 10 years experience in 10 different agencies, need not apply.

To an awesome year!

p/s: Sorry, I just realized this is on social global media.  This Dentsu is Dentsu Utama, Malaysia (an integrated advertising agency).  Not to be mistaken for another country, an auditing and finance firm and/or a certain spark plug manufacturer.