Hiring managers have all wrestled with this fear at some point: what if I hire the wrong person? How do I know if I made the wrong choice?
Applying Occam’s razor to hiring may help us deal with this fear. Occam’s razor is a philosophy that states: when presented with multiple explanations for a phenomenon, the simplest explanation is often the correct one. This principle, named after William Ockham, a 14th-century English logician, is often applied in science, medicine, and engineering.
It got us thinking: how could it help us in our hiring practices?
In a hiring process, it makes sense for managers to reach for every available tool and tactic to mitigate risk in their final decision. Beyond a formal interview process, managers might add:
- Performance tasks or mini projects
- More interview rounds
- More interviewers or panels
- Elaborate online assessments
- Personality tests
- Hypothetical case studies
And yet – Occam’s razor suggests that focusing on the most straightforward and relevant indicators of success is our most useful guide: the simplest explanation for a potential candidate’s qualifications and fit for an open position is often the most accurate one.
What does this mean in practical terms? Instead of putting too much weight on a candidate’s impressive resume, assessment scores or flashy credentials, hiring managers could focus on the candidate’s relevant work experience, skill set, and abilities. By digging deeper into those things with clear intention, we are not overwhelmed with data, tools, scores and opinions. Rather, we are laser focused on a handful of things that we spent time figuring out matter most long before we meet any candidates.
However, it is also important to remember the simplest explanation is not always the most obvious one. It takes reason and common sense to ensure we don’t mistake faulty shortcuts for simple explanations. Things we may think make our decision an ‘obvious’ one could easily lead us astray – often referred to as mental ‘shortcuts.’
For example, a hiring manager may assume that a candidate with a degree from a prestigious university is automatically the best choice – without considering other factors such as relevant work experience, skills, and cultural fit. The reputation of their alma mater may seem to make the decision an ‘obvious’ one. Yet, we are baffled when the new hire leaves their role after just a few months.
Turning back to Occam’s razor in the hiring process, we have to consider how we’re matching the role we actually have to the actual candidate sitting in front of us. If simple explanations are most accurate, where might this lead us?
Intentionally designing our role and then crafting optimal interview questions to determine if a candidate has the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, desires, and attributes to be a success on our team – might be the simplest and most accurate way to make great hiring decisions.
