Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume
-
0:01 - 0:04Your company launches
a search for an open position. -
0:05 - 0:07The applications start rolling in,
-
0:07 - 0:10and the qualified candidates
are identified. -
0:11 - 0:13Now the choosing begins.
-
0:14 - 0:19Person A: Ivy League,
4.0, flawless resume, -
0:19 - 0:21great recommendations.
-
0:21 - 0:23All the right stuff.
-
0:24 - 0:29Person B: state school,
fair amount of job hopping, -
0:29 - 0:33and odd jobs like cashier
and singing waitress. -
0:34 - 0:37But remember -- both are qualified.
-
0:38 - 0:39So I ask you:
-
0:39 - 0:41who are you going to pick?
-
0:42 - 0:46My colleagues and I created
very official terms -
0:46 - 0:49to describe two distinct
categories of candidates. -
0:50 - 0:53We call A "the Silver Spoon,"
-
0:53 - 0:58the one who clearly had advantages
and was destined for success. -
0:58 - 1:02And we call B "the Scrapper,"
-
1:02 - 1:05the one who had to fight
against tremendous odds -
1:05 - 1:07to get to the same point.
-
1:08 - 1:12You just heard a human resources
director refer to people -
1:12 - 1:13as Silver Spoons and Scrappers --
-
1:14 - 1:15(Laughter)
-
1:15 - 1:19which is not exactly politically correct
and sounds a bit judgmental. -
1:19 - 1:23But before my human resources
certification gets revoked -- -
1:23 - 1:24(Laughter)
-
1:25 - 1:26let me explain.
-
1:27 - 1:29A resume tells a story.
-
1:29 - 1:32And over the years, I've learned
something about people -
1:32 - 1:36whose experiences read
like a patchwork quilt, -
1:36 - 1:39that makes me stop and fully consider them
-
1:39 - 1:42before tossing their resumes away.
-
1:43 - 1:45A series of odd jobs may indicate
-
1:45 - 1:50inconsistency, lack of focus,
unpredictability. -
1:50 - 1:55Or it may signal a committed
struggle against obstacles. -
1:55 - 2:00At the very least, the Scrapper
deserves an interview. -
2:01 - 2:02To be clear,
-
2:02 - 2:05I don't hold anything
against the Silver Spoon; -
2:05 - 2:09getting into and graduating
from an elite university -
2:09 - 2:12takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice.
-
2:12 - 2:16But if your whole life has been
engineered toward success, -
2:16 - 2:19how will you handle the tough times?
-
2:19 - 2:24One person I hired felt that
because he attended an elite university, -
2:24 - 2:27there were certain assignments
that were beneath him, -
2:27 - 2:32like temporarily doing manual labor
to better understand an operation. -
2:33 - 2:34Eventually, he quit.
-
2:36 - 2:38But on the flip side,
-
2:38 - 2:43what happens when your whole life
is destined for failure -
2:43 - 2:45and you actually succeed?
-
2:46 - 2:49I want to urge you
to interview the Scrapper. -
2:51 - 2:55I know a lot about this
because I am a Scrapper. -
2:56 - 2:57Before I was born,
-
2:57 - 3:01my father was diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia, -
3:01 - 3:05and he couldn't hold a job
in spite of his brilliance. -
3:06 - 3:09Our lives were one part "Cuckoo's Nest,"
-
3:09 - 3:11one part "Awakenings"
-
3:11 - 3:13and one part "A Beautiful Mind."
-
3:14 - 3:16(Laughter)
-
3:17 - 3:20I'm the fourth of five children
raised by a single mother -
3:20 - 3:23in a rough neighborhood
in Brooklyn, New York. -
3:23 - 3:28We never owned a home,
a car, a washing machine, -
3:28 - 3:32and for most of my childhood,
we didn't even have a telephone. -
3:33 - 3:34So I was highly motivated
-
3:34 - 3:39to understand the relationship
between business success and Scrappers, -
3:39 - 3:44because my life could easily
have turned out very differently. -
3:45 - 3:47As I met successful business people
-
3:47 - 3:50and read profiles of high-powered leaders,
-
3:50 - 3:52I noticed some commonality.
-
3:53 - 3:57Many of them had experienced
early hardships, -
3:57 - 4:00anywhere from poverty, abandonment,
-
4:00 - 4:02death of a parent while young,
-
4:02 - 4:06to learning disabilities,
alcoholism and violence. -
4:07 - 4:11The conventional thinking has been
that trauma leads to distress, -
4:11 - 4:15and there's been a lot of focus
on the resulting dysfunction. -
4:15 - 4:20But during studies of dysfunction,
data revealed an unexpected insight: -
4:20 - 4:26that even the worst circumstances
can result in growth and transformation. -
4:26 - 4:30A remarkable and counterintuitive
phenomenon has been discovered, -
4:30 - 4:35which scientists call
Post Traumatic Growth. -
4:35 - 4:39In one study designed to measure
the effects of adversity -
4:39 - 4:41on children at risk,
-
4:41 - 4:45among a subset of 698 children
-
4:45 - 4:50who experienced the most severe
and extreme conditions, -
4:50 - 4:56fully one-third grew up to lead healthy,
successful and productive lives. -
4:56 - 5:02In spite of everything and against
tremendous odds, they succeeded. -
5:02 - 5:03One-third.
-
5:04 - 5:06Take this resume.
-
5:06 - 5:09This guy's parents
give him up for adoption. -
5:09 - 5:11He never finishes college.
-
5:12 - 5:14He job-hops quite a bit,
-
5:14 - 5:17goes on a sojourn to India for a year,
-
5:17 - 5:20and to top it off, he has dyslexia.
-
5:20 - 5:22Would you hire this guy?
-
5:23 - 5:25His name is Steve Jobs.
-
5:26 - 5:30In a study of the world's
most highly successful entrepreneurs, -
5:30 - 5:34it turns out a disproportionate
number have dyslexia. -
5:35 - 5:36In the US,
-
5:36 - 5:4035 percent of the entrepreneurs
studied had dyslexia. -
5:41 - 5:45What's remarkable --
among those entrepreneurs -
5:45 - 5:48who experience post traumatic growth,
-
5:48 - 5:51they now view their learning disability
-
5:51 - 5:56as a desirable difficulty
which provided them an advantage -
5:56 - 6:01because they became better listeners
and paid greater attention to detail. -
6:01 - 6:06They don't think they are who they are
in spite of adversity, -
6:06 - 6:11they know they are who they are
because of adversity. -
6:11 - 6:13They embrace their trauma and hardships
-
6:13 - 6:16as key elements of who they've become,
-
6:16 - 6:19and know that without those experiences,
-
6:19 - 6:23they might not have developed
the muscle and grit required -
6:23 - 6:24to become successful.
-
6:26 - 6:29One of my colleagues
had his life completely upended -
6:29 - 6:34as a result of the Chinese
Cultural Revolution in 1966. -
6:35 - 6:40At age 13, his parents were relocated
to the countryside, -
6:40 - 6:42the schools were closed
-
6:42 - 6:47and he was left alone in Beijing
to fend for himself until 16, -
6:47 - 6:50when he got a job in a clothing factory.
-
6:50 - 6:52But instead of accepting his fate,
-
6:52 - 6:56he made a resolution that he would
continue his formal education. -
6:58 - 7:01Eleven years later, when
the political landscape changed, -
7:01 - 7:06he heard about a highly selective
university admissions test. -
7:06 - 7:10He had three months to learn
the entire curriculum -
7:10 - 7:12of middle and high school.
-
7:13 - 7:17So, every day he came home
from the factory, -
7:17 - 7:21took a nap, studied until 4am,
went back to work -
7:21 - 7:25and repeated this cycle
every day for three months. -
7:26 - 7:29He did it, he succeeded.
-
7:30 - 7:35His commitment to his education
was unwavering, and he never lost hope. -
7:35 - 7:38Today, he holds a master's degree,
-
7:38 - 7:43and his daughters each have degrees
from Cornell and Harvard. -
7:43 - 7:46Scrappers are propelled by the belief
-
7:46 - 7:51that the only person you have
full control over is yourself. -
7:52 - 7:54When things don't turn out well,
-
7:54 - 7:59Scrappers ask, "What can I do differently
to create a better result?" -
7:59 - 8:01Scrappers have a sense of purpose
-
8:01 - 8:04that prevents them
from giving up on themselves, -
8:04 - 8:10kind of like if you've survived poverty,
a crazy father and several muggings, -
8:10 - 8:13you figure, "Business challenges? --
-
8:13 - 8:14(Laughter)
-
8:14 - 8:15Really?
-
8:15 - 8:18Piece of cake. I got this."
-
8:18 - 8:19(Laughter)
-
8:19 - 8:21And that reminds me -- humor.
-
8:21 - 8:25Scrappers know that humor
gets you through the tough times, -
8:25 - 8:27and laughter helps you
change your perspective. -
8:28 - 8:31And finally, there are relationships.
-
8:31 - 8:35People who overcome adversity
don't do it alone. -
8:35 - 8:37Somewhere along the way,
-
8:37 - 8:41they find people who
bring out the best in them -
8:41 - 8:44and who are invested in their success.
-
8:44 - 8:48Having someone you can
count on no matter what -
8:48 - 8:50is essential to overcoming adversity.
-
8:51 - 8:52I was lucky.
-
8:53 - 8:55In my first job after college,
-
8:55 - 8:58I didn't have a car, so I carpooled
across two bridges -
8:58 - 9:01with a woman who was
the president's assistant. -
9:01 - 9:03She watched me work
-
9:03 - 9:06and encouraged me to focus on my future
-
9:06 - 9:08and not dwell on my past.
-
9:09 - 9:12Along the way I've met many people
-
9:12 - 9:15who've provided me
brutally honest feedback, -
9:15 - 9:17advice and mentorship.
-
9:18 - 9:20These people don't mind
-
9:20 - 9:24that I once worked as a singing waitress
to help pay for college. -
9:24 - 9:25(Laughter)
-
9:25 - 9:29I'll leave you with one final,
valuable insight. -
9:29 - 9:34Companies that are committed
to diversity and inclusive practices -
9:34 - 9:36tend to support Scrappers
-
9:36 - 9:39and outperform their peers.
-
9:39 - 9:42According to DiversityInc,
-
9:42 - 9:46a study of their top 50
companies for diversity -
9:46 - 9:51outperformed the S&P 500 by 25 percent.
-
9:52 - 9:55So back to my original question.
-
9:56 - 9:58Who are you going to bet on:
-
9:58 - 10:01Silver Spoon or Scrapper?
-
10:02 - 10:06I say choose the underestimated contender,
-
10:06 - 10:09whose secret weapons
are passion and purpose. -
10:10 - 10:12Hire the Scrapper.
-
10:12 - 10:16(Applause)
- Title:
- Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume
- Speaker:
- Regina Hartley
- Description:
-
Given the choice between a job candidate with a perfect resume and one who has fought through difficulty, human resources executive Regina Hartley always gives the "Scrapper" a chance. As someone who grew up with adversity, Hartley knows that those who flourish in the darkest of spaces are empowered with the grit to persist in an ever-changing workplace. "Choose the underestimated contender, whose secret weapons are passion and purpose," she says. "Hire the Scrapper."
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:31
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume |