So wifey’s colleague will be going on a long leave for a period of 3 months and she had to sit-in in an interview of a new guy who would be covering her colleague.

According to her, the interviewee – a FT, apparently, from another part of Asia – was able to describe his job scope and responsibilities so well she felt that Singaporeans were at the losing end for being really bad at articulating their work experiences.

However, wifey had a feeling this guy was half bullshitting as he used the term “we” more often than “I”, meaning he was describing his team’s work rather than his individual contribution. However when probed, the interviewee was capable of elaborating details of processes, so she couldn’t really ascertain if it was really bull or not.

Then I spoke to another friend who had some bad brushes with FTs and he asked if her colleague had asked more objective questions rather than open-ended questions such as “describe your role in your previous job” and wifey said: “Not really.”

So there are two problems here. We suck at both ends – as an interviewee and interviewer.

When I was in my first job in a small local start-up I had similar problems with interviewing, so I came up with a 3-page technical test. Rather fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) the test filtered out a lot of candidates and it became really difficult to find a decent hire and eventually we were a little starved for manpower. Over time, some random hires got in and were asked to go, or quit shortly after anyway.

Where have all the good people gone?

I’m suspecting the big companies are sucking them all up, leaving small start-ups in the ditch.

So it leaves all the Tom, Dick & Harrys (hereinafter “TDH”) to search for small-timers who are desperate for manpower to fulfill their growing business.

But if small companies don’t firm up their hiring process and start hiring any TDH, they may be in for a rough ride.

TDHs don’t really bother with company culture. They follow some rules set out by HR just for the sake of it. And for a start, many small start-ups lack culture, so TDHs will readily mess that up.

A lot of TDHs I’ve seen are in for the money, or it’s just another job to fill their idle time. TDHs lack commitment, and will readily switch jobs when a better monetary offer comes along.

Lastly, TDHs are a waste of time if you send them for certifications. They lack passion and will use your certifications as an opportunity to get a better hire elsewhere, and all your money would have been gone to waste after a year of intensive training.

So if you run a small start-up, I’d like to suggest that you firm up your hiring process. One good employee is better than many crappy ones. They bring a lot of intangible benefits to a company.

It’s really not difficult to weed out the TDHs. Test their thought processes, ask them whacky questions, push them to the limits of their answers. A passionate hire will pay attention to detail and will offer creative suggestions. TDHs will probably just answer “I don’t know” and go in search for the next easier target.

However, if you’re on the opposite side and is going for an interview soon, learn to talk. It’s really a skill, especially if you’re still in school – take your presentations seriously and aim to capture your audience. These are real life skills. If you can’t sell, you have no money! I wished I had taken them more seriously 10 years ago, but it’s a little too late for me now 😉