Hiring the Right People Posted on March 19, 2007 Joel W. Grube (bio) talks about the challenges of hiring research staff.

One of the things I wasn't prepared for when I became a researcher, and particularly once you get funded and start moving up into the more senior levels is that you're as much a manager as you are a researcher and you get to a point where you're hiring people who actually conduct and carry out the research for you under your direction, but you're not the one who's actually going out and doing the field work.

Hiring people is probably one of the most difficult things I do. Not as difficult as firing people; that's even worse. But hiring is probably one of the most important things you have to deal within finding the right people to do the job you need. There is, I don't quite know what to say about that other than it's kind of an art that you learn and you can look at the vitae, you can look at their resume, and that gives you some information. You should always call the references and talk to the references and there are key questions you ask like well, what did this person do for you while they worked for you exactly? What were their strengths and their weaknesses? Would you hire this person again if you could?

But you can't depend on those things, really, to tell you everything. The interview with the candidate is also key. And surprisingly things I look for in the interviews are, does this just seem like a person I can work with. And if you have to have this person in your offices daily, it's got to be somebody who you can get along with.

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