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Too Good of an Answer
Jul
Over at Worse Than Failure,
a comedy site where technical folks report true stories of unbelievable stupidity, there's an
article about a job candidate whose
answer is too good. He doesn't get the job because the company
finds his answer to be inexplicably accurate, and suspects him of cheating. Translation:
you're not hired because we don't believe you're really this smart.
The great comedian Groucho Marx reflects on a
funny situation. His relevance is coming in a few paragraphs.
At first, this story seems gobsmackingly ridiculous. How stupid does this company have to be
really ding a candidate because he seems significantly more competent than was expected? But the
potential employer could be filtering through any number of potential employees, and anything
unexpected---whether surprisingly inferior or superior---will automatically raise flags.
It's still a mistake to refuse this candidate an interview, but not for the reason implied
by the article. I've personally received entire proposals that were clearly plagiarized straight
off the web, and even Googled to prove it. The mistake here is to believe that the best candidate
is most likely to be somewhere near the statistical mean of all possible variables. You don't want
average candidates! At the very least, you want employees who are above average, and if possible,
those who are exceptional. When bringing new people into an organization, it's the outliers, not
the people in the boring center, who deserve the most attention. This is especially true
when their answers are suspiciously out of the ordinary.
The Groucho Marx Principle
The entertainer pictured above famously said: "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."
Accepting an invitation into a group whose standards are lower than your own is rarely a wise decision.
Why join if you're unimpressed with their selection process?
The original article from Worse Than Failure applies the Groucho Marx Principle as well. It tells
us that being rejected because your answer is "too good" is a blessing in disguise. After all, would you
really want to be part of an organization so afraid of an exceptional response?
The Math is Easy
If you need a solution that is ordinary, safe, and altogether common, pick the average from your data set.
This is wise when selecting the winning propsoal bid on price alone; whoever has the average price will
probably do the best job. But when you're looking for anything that's not average---such as people to join
what is your exclusive organization, avoid the average. Focus on the candidates who don't fit the profile.
Avoid mediocrity. Go for the extraordinary.
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