why it’s important to “inoculate” your hires to the hard parts of the job
I tell hiring managers to give candidates a direct dose of what is difficult about the job throughout the interview process, from the first conversation to the call when they make an offer. Giving candidates these doses of the difficult is like “inoculating” them against a virus.
I recommend this because:
Committing to competencies and goals before accepting the job improves performance on the job.
Doing so after having experienced what’s challenging improves performance further. Later when things get hard:
They’re less likely to externalize (“This is not what I signed up for”)
They’re more likely to take responsibility for succeeding (“I chose this job even though I knew this would be challenging”).
The performance boost is not in them knowing early on (i.e. “getting used to it”) – it’s in them having agreed to it before saying yes to the job. The last time they’ll agree to something foundationally challenging is before they accept the job.
-ben
