Which person would you employ?

[Rossita]

Which of these two people would you employ? For a bit of background they both started at the company at the same time and they’re both currently doing the same job. The vacancy they are both applying for is a promotion and will involve managing the department that they currently work in. The role does not require any professional qualifications.

Person A:
Highly qualified to PHD level in an unrelated field.
Has some experience from a previous role that helps in her current position.
Works very well alone and produces some really good work.
Is very committed to the department
Does not work so well as part of a team.
Can sometimes act a little ‘superior’ and has upset every other member of the team at some point.
Does not accept any constructive criticism and believes that her way is the only way to do things.

Person B
Qualified to GCSE level
Has previous experience that helps in her current role.
Is committed to the department.
Produces some really good work.
Sometimes struggles to work alone as she can lack in self confidence and needs to ask advice from other team members.
Is very much a team player, she is good at building professional relationships.
Has on several occasions managed a project which showed she was a good leader.
She is not always great at delegating so ends up taking on too much work herself.

I’ve posted here so people could vote because it makes it easier to see the overall opinion.

YABU Person A
YANBU person B

The interview process ought to have/ to have included a number of those hypothetical scenarios, kind of role play situations to tease out how the candidates would apply their skills to problem- solving. It could be the case that neither candidate has truly had the opportunity so far to make clear their vision, priorities, understanding of what management entails; nor their views on how the department could be developed to be more productive .

At the post-interview phase, these candidates should have emerged in the mind of the interviewer as new people. Labels about educational qualifications shouldn't really be at the forefront of the reckoning.

B’s lack of confidence would really put me off. Other members of the team would be able to walk all over her and she would probably benefit from some sort of management development programme.

A I is more likely to be a strategic thinker and mentally tougher and so they’ll probably be better suited to the role. They also have much better credentials which confers additional credibility across the organisation, and are more likely to be able to grasp the additional complexity of the role. The organisation may also be more inclined to offer A a promotion in order to ensure she remains there, as she’ll likely have more opportunities to move to another company.

Swap A for B in previous message 😁

B.

Letters after a name does not usually mean much in a day to day work setting

Neither. I work for a Person A and it is pretty miserable.

I think it has to be A who is better qualified and confident

Have voted for B out of the options but I'd actually go external

@justfinefornow

PhDs develop useful project management and analytical skills as well as requiring internal motivation and perseverance Great but if they can’t adapt and learn new ways of doing things, accept constructive criticism, demonstrate emotional intelligence etc then we would not promote them - their Phd would not be relevant.

The PhD is relevant to some of the skills required for a management position so it is relevant when considering the candidate. The fact that there are other skills she needs that she doesn’t have doesn’t make her PhD irrelevant. Just as B’s lack of confidence doesn’t make her demonstrated leadership skills irrelevant.

They both have weaknesses and strengths and I pointed out which strengths, relevant to a management position, a PhD provides support for.

I was answering

*hit return too soon

I was answering your question about why a PhD was relevant, not saying That it immediately made A’s candidacy the best.

I’d hire outside of the team. I would choose b over a, but I’d be concerned about lack of confidence and inability to delegate

Person B sounds far more suitable for a team role, and sounds like they’re perfectly well qualified to do it. I suspect getting the job would give Then the confidence they need.

I say this a PhD graduate. Knowing a lot about a very small area is not always that useful!

Why would promoting them give them the confidence to be a manager when having the job they have doesn't give them the confidence to do that job?

How does a Phd student develop project managements skills...do they manage people to pull together and deliver their project?

@BoomBoomsCousin

Why would promoting them give them the confidence to be a manager when having the job they have doesn't give them the confidence to do that job?

Precisely

Person B because it will be far easier and more likely that person B will learn to delegate and grow in confidence. It will be far harder for person A to unlearn bad habits like superiority and not accepting constructive criticisms.

@justfinefornow

How does a Phd student develop project managements skills...do they manage people to pull together and deliver their project?

Yes quite often they do. Depends on the PhD and the size and scale of their research project but not unusual for them to develop extensive project management skills.

Neither

Person B because it will be far easier and more likely that person B will learn to delegate and grow in confidence.

My experience is the person Bs become micromanagers. They have to control everything as they don't trust the team - hence the delegating issue.

I just hope A or B is you and you're not an actual employer asking the internet for advice on who to hire.

@ksohh0

I just hope A or B is you and you're not an actual employer asking the internet for advice on who to hire.

My thoughts exactly. If A and B knew about this post I think they would tell you to go and find C to fill the role.