Perhaps it has always been in vogue to reject people. It’s just that people are less civil now when they do it.
This isn’t about me being rejected. I’m a big boy. I don’t need anyone’s approval. This is about how we as a society will function when we have this desire to reject others.
I see this increasingly in so many domains. Dating, hiring, really everything people like to think they are better than others by rejecting almost everyone. They say to themselves that they will know they will find the person when their fantasy idea comes true. The problem is that we know that isn’t true, and they know it as well!
I’ll give you some examples. I once worked for a company that had a ridiculous hiring process. Anyway, they kept hiring people who didn’t want to stay. Did they change their process? No. They justified it by saying that they weren’t right for the “culture”. Listen hiring managers’ culture isn’t a static thing. It is made by people who are diverse and who can contribute to your mission. When you say that they don’t fit in your culture, what you are saying is that your culture wasn’t open enough to make them feel welcome and want to stay. Culture is made from differences! Not sameness.
Let’s give another example. I worked with people who said they didn’t feel they were part of the company. They said they didn’t feel comfortable and accepted by their peers. There is a concept of psychological safety that managers ignore or don’t know about. It means that people are safe to disagree and to respectfully share their thoughts without fear of reprisal or negative consequences. When companies don’t have this, they start to fail both in productivity and in competitiveness in the marketplace. Your assets are not the stupid things you buy, it is the people you invest in. So why hold them back by your idea of culture that is comfortable for you? A cultured person makes everyone feel comfortable. A real adult helps other adults become better than who they are.
When you reject others you show your inadequacies to accept and work with others. Skills can be taught. Knowledge can be shared. This gets to a ridiculous level with drug tests and all of the garbage that people do now. They only do it because they need a job not because they think it makes a difference.
Now you might say to yourself, some people wouldn’t be able to do the job. Thats right. They don’t have the skills. If your questions are anything other than the skills that people have, or the ability to learn skills you are wasting your time and others. If someone is smart and has a good attitude, hire them. What do you think will be their loyalty when you show interest in them and their career? They will do anything for you. Companies complain about loyalty, but you have to give to get it. You get loyalty when you show and demonstrate it. You can only ask what you give.
Here is the ideal hiring process. You list the skills they need to have. You have 100 people who say they can do it. Then you look over resumes to see if it is possible they can do it. If its possible then you schedule interviews. Simple. Increase the number of people at your company involved in the hiring process. Solicit their feedback and act on it. We are gatekeeping hiring and it doesn’t help anyone.