Hire Tardigrades, Not Unicorns!
Forget unicorns and purple squirrels, we need to hire tardigrades
Disclaimer: I was told, shortly before publishing this blog, that the term “unicorn” can have some… other connotations. I am NOT talking about that kind of unicorn here. Get your minds out of the gutter folks!
I swear, if one more hiring manager asks me to find them a unicorn candidate I might throw up rainbows all over their sorry shoes. And you thought glitter was hard to get out…
But in all honesty, our obsession with the perfect candidate, or perfect employee, is doing us a disservice. We, and this is the collective royal “we,” are chasing down and celebrating the impossible. And furthermore, we’re building organizations and cultures that hedge all our bets on bringing in those fantastical individuals that are perfect, that don’t need training or hand-holding or maps of our complicated magical forests. Because they are the all-knowing, all-powerful unicorns! Huzzah! A unicorn will solve all our problems! We don’t need to address the environment that the unicorn is expected to inhabit.
What even is a unicorn?
Okay, you probably haven’t read this far if you didn’t have some idea of what I was talking about. But for some context, a “unicorn” in the world of recruiting is a term we in the biz (I always wanted to use that phrase) use to describe those perfect candidates, and eventually, those perfect employees.
Unicorns have all the required skills, all the nice-to-have skills, they’ve got the experience, the right attitude, they’re excited about your mission and/or culture, they fall perfectly into the already-approved salary band, and of course- they’re ready to start immediately. In the early 2000s, these candidates also earned the nickname “purple squirrels.” For good reason- when was the last time you saw a purple squirrel in the wild? Probably around the same time you saw a unicorn.
But there are so, so, SO many things wrong with bringing in a unicorn as our fix-it solution to hiring. Here are some ways I’ve seen unicorn hires fail:
First of all, unicorns are challenging to find- especially in today’s modern climate. Having only seen a couple of them (and several passing glances), I imagine they are nocturnal and can magic themselves invisible on command. They sure don’t frequent the wide-open pastures of your easy-to-find candidates. So finding them takes time!
Secondly, unicorns are hard to keep in one spot. Most of our organizations are not magical realms of crystal clear waters and fluffy marshmallow clouds. Our waters are murky, much like our decision-making processes, and our clouds, like employee morale, can be a bit deflated. They can be expensive to recruit, and even more expensive to retain. Many unicorns don’t last long, they often leave organizations because the organization doesn’t live up to their standards.
And finally, unicorns can end up being one-trick ponies. Much like the vampires in the Twilight series (I shutter as I write this, having never loathed a book as much as I Ioathed Twilight), many unicorns end up looking pretty and sparkling, but not actually furthering the mission, improving the bottom line, or enhancing the plot work. It can be hard for unicorns to live up to high expectations, in fact- many don’t.
So what do we need if not a unicorn?
I’m not suggesting that any of us should settle for under-performing, or even average, candidates. Of course we were all excited about a unicorn- I mean come on, that sparkle. But do you know what is just as cool as the magical? The microscopic! Let me introduce you to the tardigrade- a resilient, nimble, and efficient organism that exists not in a land of imagination, but in abundance all around us. You just have to know what to look for.
Tardigrades are some of the most adaptive and resilient creatures ever. There are currently about 1,300 known tardigrade species within the Tardigrada phylum. They can withstand temperatures as low as -328 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 300 degrees Fahrenheit. When things get tough, they go into a sort of hibernation (cryptobiosis) state. I’m not saying you want employees that stop performing well or forego self-care during stressful times, but I am saying that we should be actively seeking out candidates that are resilient and adaptable to many different environments.
Instead of seeking out unicorns that check every single need-to-have and nice-to-have box for a job description that is likely to shape and evolve, hiring managers should focus on what is really needed and how is that need going to evolve over time. Get rid of your nice-to-have qualifications. Period. When looking for candidates think about what is needed (and check those minimum requirements for bias and reality!) and set the bar there- and if you haven’t read Better Allies Approach to Hiring do so now and subscribe to their 5 Ally Actions Newsletter. Then, once you’ve found candidates that meet these requirements, consider if you will candidates that show demonstrated success or ability in a couple of competencies that I like to call “The Tardigrade Trio.” Seeking out candidates that have the following skills and capabilities will serve you better in the long term.
The Tardigrade Trio: Resilience, Adaptability, and Potential
Seek out candidates that bring these tardigrade-esque qualities to the table:
Resilience. Resiliency is the ability to successfully engage with challenges and opportunities, maintain self-control and performance under pressure, and not only meet adversity with composure but grow from it. There is a great Forbes article from 2021 around this competency of resiliency and how to strengthen that muscle. I would argue that this isn’t just for leaders though, at this time we need everyone across our organizations to be resilient. We live in interesting times. How do you hire for resilience? A couple of tips:
Make resilience prominent in your job postings. Include terms in your postings like resilience, agility, or adaptability. And remember, talk about your culture authentically in your job postings! Attract candidates with your great benefits and amazing culture, but do so in a way that is honest. Resilient candidates know what to look for when considering organizations.
Ask behavioral interview questions about failure (i.e. “tell me about a time you failed at work?”), stress (i.e. “describe a stressful situation and how you handled it”), and persistence (i.e. “give me an example of a time you were given a task and had limited knowledge to proceed, what did you do?”).
Screen resumes for resilience-related language. Seek out candidates that express themselves as being adaptable, agile, and resilient. They may talk about how they “persevered” and “innovated even in the face of obstacles.”
Ability to Adapt. Organizations shouldn’t be hunting unicorns but instead seeking out those candidates that can upskill and collaborate. And do that well. A big piece of that is finding individuals who are adaptable. Some things to consider when hiring for adaptability include:
Think about how the role you’re filling may shift and evolve over time. Do you need someone that will lead the organization through growth? Through change?
Think culture add as in “what are we missing as a team and how do we find those missing skills and experiences.” A lot of folks consider “culture fit” when hiring, this can be loaded and coded language- I would encourage you to consider those skill-set gaps that you’re missing as a team. Don’t hire more of the same, hire what you’re missing and the organization will be stronger because of it.
Ask behavioral interview questions about the ability to adapt (i.e. “what do you do when priorities shift, give me an example of a time when this happened.”).
Potential. This is hard, but not impossible. Hiring for potential means you don’t need someone that is absolutely perfect right this minute, you look for someone that has the potential to be perfect for what you need in the long term. Want some of my thoughts on how to hire for potential (if not too bad, you’re going to get them):
Soft skills are harder to skill up and train than technical skills. Place an emphasis on soft skills (like collaboration!) in your posting and interview process.
Ask behavioral interview questions about motivation (i.e. “give me some examples of past working experiences that you have found personally satisfying”).
Evaluate transferable skills. If a candidate doesn’t have the exact tool or system you’re looking for, but they have expert-level knowledge in a similar tool it might be a good idea to give them consideration.
The moral of the story
Okay, so what is the moral of this story? The moral is that we need creatures that can survive and thrive in less-than-ideal environments. Heck, what we really need are creatures that can make their environments better. I stand by the belief that we don’t need to be chasing unicorns but seeking out tardigrades if we are to survive these extreme and uncertain times.
And even though it may sound like I have a bias against unicorns, I will tell you this- I love the unicorns over at Nonprofit AF and if you haven’t checked them out do so immediately. Like now, so I guess I’ll wrap on that.
Thanks for reading! And if you want to learn more about how to bring your tardigrade skills to an interview, check out my Career Workshop service offerings by clicking on the button below.
