SUNDAY MORNING RANT … Throughout my professional career I have been responsible for giving many a candidate a chance to prove themselves as worthy, dependable and loyal employees. I would say that this number would be in the low thousands! When employed by one of the Big-8 (that was the number back then!) Accounting Firms, for many years I was responsible for doing the rounds at various universities and colleges selling the Firm and glamorising careers in Public Accounting. From the ensuing hundreds of applications received, I will weed them down a manageable 30 – 40, after initial interviews (yes! one-on-one, no AI in them ancient times!) to make offers to. I was also responsible for running the Firm’s national 2-week technical and induction course for 200 – 300 new graduates from all around Australia. This gives me an excellent opportunity to assess their other equally important (human and personal) qualities in addition to their academic achievements. It is during this time at the live-in course that I observe their true identities. One can achieve academic greatness, but mere technocrats lack the other qualities that make them human and personable, and with empathy. Away from all that, I was also responsible for picking the Team-Members for my Division, when I scaled down to an 8-Partner, 50+ staff Collins Street Practice. It was during the new recruits’ probationary period that I keenly observe their human-side, to assess their suitability for a long-term future with the Firm. Anyone can study hard, research even harder and deeper, and achieve excellence in all things technical … they are next to useless to me (or to any employer, or work-team) if they do not have a human-side … Just another Sunday rant …
