Highs & Lows Method

You are single. You meet someone new. You get to know each other. You feel like you share the same values, bond over shared interests, and have a specific chemistry. Would you call all the ex-partners they had and ask their opinion about them?

Certainly no. Thank god no. Probably very few relationships would be able to flourish if this was the standard procedure.

Then why do you call the ex-bosses of someone you would like to hire?

Let’s say the feedback is positive; still, it is based on many circumstances: the relationship, the project, the team, the time…

Let’s assume the feedback is negative; what if the candidate grew thanks to this negative experience? What if your contact, the ex-boss, was the biggest asshole?

People deserve to be assessed for who they are today. It is unfair that past perspectives of people who are irrelevant to the subject keep chasing the candidate and steal their chance to make a first impression.

Next time you want to call the ex-boss of someone you want to hire, think against: How well do you know the ex-boss? How well do you know the circumstances that they were in when they worked together? If the answer is so-so, skip the call and trust your intuition. Every candidate deserves a fair chance.

“People change. Memories don’t.”

Anonymous