How many points would you score?
by Catherine Pulsifer
 

We sat around the table trying to decide who was the best candidate for the job. Mary felt Sam should get the job. "Just look at his education," she said to Mark and I. "Based on his resume, he has the knowledge to do the job".

"But Mary look at Ellen. Her references said she is a hard worker, and, from the interview, you could tell she works hard. That is what we need here. Someone who is not afraid of a lot of work," exclaimed Mark.

I sat and listened to Mark and Mary debate over who was the best candidate for the job. Then they turned to me and said, "What do you think Kate? Is it knowledge or is it a hard worker we need for this job?"

"Both are important but there is one thing you are both missing," I said. They both looked at me like I was crazy. I explained by saying, "Knowledge is certainly important, but knowledge can be learned. And working hard is important. But if a person just works hard but they fail to see things that could be improved or fail to see a smarter way to work rather than just working and working, than that won't help us."

I could tell by the look on their faces that they wished they had not asked me to sit on this interview. We had been interviewing for 3 days now and they had narrowed it down to the two candidates that we were discussing. Now, here I am saying that it was neither of these candidates!
 

"I think Ruth would be the best candidate for the job." They looked at each other, but I held up my hand in protest and said, "Hear me out before you say anything. My reason for picking Ruth is because of her attitude."

"Attitude", both Mary and Mark said at the same time! "Yes, attitude," I replied.

"Let me explain. Ruth has good education credentials, and I agree that her credentials are not as good as Sam's. And Ruth's answers to the interview questions showed she would look for ways to improve how she performs a job rather than just working and working. The one thing that impressed me the most was her attitude. From the reference checks, it confirms that she has a positive attitude and influences those around her. We need someone who can look at how and what we are doing, someone who will question the why and someone who will look for solutions."

I could see that Mark agreed with my thinking, but Mary was still impressed with Sam's education. "Mary, you can teach anyone the theory, but you can not teach someone the right attitude." Mary sat for a minute and thought about this. Finally, she replied, "You know Kate listening to you reminds me of my grand-mother. She once showed me something that I had forgotten about. As you were talking, it flashed in my mind. Let me share my grandmothers way of thinking with you."
 

She stood up and went to the flipchart, and start writing the alphabet. Mark and I exchanged looks but let Mary continue.
 

She explained, "If you numbered the alphabet it would look like this."  She then proceeded to write on the flip chart,
 

A...B...C...D...E...F...G...H...I...J.....K...L...M....N....O
1...2....3....4....5...6....7....8...9..10..11..12. 13...14...15
 

P....Q....R....S....T.....U....V....W....X....Y....Z
16..17..18..19...20...21...22...23...24...25...26

She continued to write on the flip chart:

K = 11
N = 14
O = 15
W = 23
L = 12
E = 5
D = 4
G = 7
E = 5

Total 96 points
 

H = 8
A = 1
R = 18
D = 4

W = 23
O = 15
R = 18
K = 11

Total 98 points

A = 1
T = 20
T = 20
I = 9
T = 20
U = 21
D = 4
E = 5

Total 100 points

I was surprised when she was finished. I had never seen this done before. I suddenly realized I no longer had to explain to Mary the importance of attitude; her grandmother had done that for me. We all laughed and all agreed that Ruth was the successful candidate for the job!