Resumes are garbage.
In today's world, they're often AI-generated masterpieces of exaggeration, half-truths, and sometimes outright fiction. But here's the kicker – even if every word were gospel truth, we'd still be barking up the wrong tree.
Why? Because we're asking the wrong questions entirely.
For decades, we've been seduced by the allure of resumes brimming with impressive skills and experiences. We've chased after candidates with the perfect pedigree, believing that their past accomplishments were a surefire predictor of future success. Honestly ask yourself this - when was the last time a new hire walked in and didn't need to be trained on your specific methods, tools, or company culture? Haven't we all witnessed the meteoric rise of that one employee who came in with zero "relevant" experience but ended up revolutionizing their department?
By trusting in resumes, we've overlooked a critical truth: skills can be taught, but the core of who someone is – their innate drives and motivations – is hardwired.
This oversight isn't just a minor hiccup in the hiring process. It's a costly miscalculation that's leaving a trail of disengaged employees, fractured teams, and untapped potential in its wake. As reported by Fast Company in 2023, voluntary turnover could reach 24% post-pandemic – nearly a quarter of the entire workforce. The price tag? Studies show that turnover costs employers between six to nine months of the lost employee's salary]. Other findings are even more staggering, with Gallup estimating that U.S. businesses are losing $1 trillion every year due to voluntary turnover].
Unveiling the Power of Hardwiring
Hard wiring is the unique combination of innate drives and motivations that shape how an individual naturally approaches work, solves problems, and interacts with others. Unlike skills or experience, these core attributes are relatively stable throughout one's career (even life) and serve as the foundation for how someone will perform in any given role.
Understanding an individual's hardwiring is like having a blueprint of their professional DNA. It reveals a wealth of insights far beyond what a resume or interview could ever capture including:
How they process information and make decisions
Their natural approach to problem-solving
Their innate communication style
What truly motivates them at a core level
This is just scratching the surface. Hardwiring also illuminates an individual's resilience under pressure, capacity for innovation, conflict-navigating skills, and potential for leadership. It's a multidimensional view of a person's innate strengths and tendencies.
Armed with this knowledge, leaders can make hiring decisions that go beyond surface-level qualifications and tap into each individual’s true potential. Beyond immediate hiring, remarkable transformations can occur, such as:
Empowered Teams: When team members understand their own hardwiring and that of their colleagues, it fosters a culture of empathy, effective communication, and collaboration. Teams become more than the sum of their parts, leveraging diverse strengths to drive innovation and problem-solving.
Adaptive Leadership: Leaders armed with hardwiring insights can tailor their management style to bring out the best in each team member. This personalized approach leads to higher engagement, loyalty, and performance across the board.
Cultural Alignment: By hiring people whose hardwiring aligns with the company's values and mission, organizations can build a more cohesive and resilient culture that stands the test of time.
Understanding Hardwiring: Key Attributes
When we talk about hardwiring, we're referring to the innate drives and motivations that shape how an individual naturally approaches work, solves problems, and interacts with others. While there are many aspects to an individual's hardwiring, here are four key attributes that significantly impact professional behavior:
Drive to Influence: The desire to impact outcomes and shape one's environment.
High: Tends to take charge and drive change
Low: Prefers supporting roles and collaborative decision-making
Social Energy: The need for and energy gained from social interaction.
High: Thrives on frequent social engagement and verbal processing
Low: Prefers independent work and less frequent social interaction
Need for Structure: The drive for stability, routine, and methodical approaches.
High: Values structure, planning, and predictability
Low: Comfortable with change and spontaneity
Detail Orientation: The drive for accuracy, adherence to rules, and attention to detail.
High: Focuses on getting things exactly right, values thorough analysis
Low: Prioritizes big-picture thinking, comfortable with ambiguity
Understanding these attributes and how they manifest in workplace behaviors is key to assessing a candidate's hardwiring and predicting their fit within a role or team.
Key Strategies for Assessing Hardwiring in Candidates
To effectively uncover a candidate's hardwiring during the hiring process, consider implementing these targeted strategies:
Utilize Psychometric Assessments: Implement scientifically validated tools like Aptive Index that specifically measure innate drives and motivations, providing deep insights into a candidate's natural tendencies and working style.
Conduct Behavioral Descriptive Interviews: Design questions that reveal aspects of a candidate's hardwiring. For example:
For roles with limited social interaction: "Describe a project where you had to work independently for extended periods. How did you manage this?"
To assess assertiveness: "Can you describe an instance where you found it challenging to voice your opinion in a group setting? How did you handle it?"
Use Situational Judgment Tests: Present candidates with hypothetical workplace scenarios and ask how they would respond. This can reveal their natural problem-solving approaches and interpersonal tendencies.
Conduct Team Interviews: Have candidates interact with potential team members in a casual setting. This can reveal how they naturally communicate and collaborate.
Ask About Motivations: Directly inquire about what drives the candidate. Questions like "What aspects of work give you the most energy?" or "Describe your ideal work environment" can reveal core motivations.
By combining these assessment methods, you can gain a more accurate understanding of a candidate's hardwiring and make more informed hiring decisions that go beyond surface-level qualifications.
The Future of Work is Hardwired
As we navigate the complexities of the modern workplace, understanding hardwiring is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity. The organizations that embrace this approach will not only survive but thrive in the face of unprecedented challenges and opportunities.
By looking beyond the surface and tapping into the core of what drives human potential, we can build teams that are not just skilled, but truly extraordinary. We can create workplaces where individuals don't just survive, but flourish. And in doing so, we can unlock levels of innovation, productivity, and success that we once thought impossible.
The future of work is here, and it's hardwired for success. The question is, are you ready to plug in?
Jason P. Carroll is the founder and CEO of Aptive Index, a company dedicated to revolutionizing how organizations approach hiring and team alignment through advanced psychometric assessments and strategic advisory services.
