Joseph Hopkins: Interviewing for Strong Discretionary Habits

How to evaluate for good discretion in the hiring process. Discretion is defined by Merriam Webster as an “Ability to make responsible decisions”. This is a quality that all leaders expect from their people but as we know, this is not always the case. How do you interview to uncover good discretionary habits? 

Today’s Quote: 

"A sound discretion is not so much indicated by never making a mistake as by never repeating it." - Christian Nestell Bovee

I’m Rick Girard and welcome to the Hire Power Radio Show. We help Entrepreneurs and hiring managers to avoid costly hiring mistakes by identifying a specific problem and providing proven solutions to enable you to WIN the right hire. We share insights from top-performing rebel entrepreneurs, disruptors & industry experts.

 Like our guest today: Joseph Hopkins, Founder & Senior Managing Partner of The IPRESTIGE Emerge Fund, LLC

Joseph is a thought leader in AI, authentication and security technologies, He leads an innovative emerging technologies firm that serves as a proprietary first-mover advantage IP incubation model that concentrates on growth opportunities in digital identity protection, security and advance encryption technologies. 

Prior to Joseph’s AI and digital identity security work, he served in key executive management roles for Fortune 500 companies, including Kaiser Permanente, 3M, GSK, Allergan, and KPMG. He has hired Hundreds of people throughout his career. 

Which makes Joseph a perfect expert for today’s topic. Joseph, Welcome to the Hire Power Radio Show today! 

Today we are going to discuss

Why it is important to Connect with people while adding value
How to evaluate for good discretion in the hiring process

Connecting with people to add value

Listening skills
No one wants to hear about your problems
Pick up on a person’s cadence
What makes the person tick as a person
Navigate how you engage as to their preference
If you miss the connection, you’ll never get it back
Pick up folks who miss the 9-5 mentality

Rick’s Input

No one cares about the words coming out of your mouth
While hiring it is critical to be more concerned about the other person than filling your role. 

How to evaluate “good discretion” 

Trusting the gut, instincts
Less tricky the older the person is
More experience, the less risk 
Interest or passion in the work
Experience
Clear signs around eye contact, body language, smile while talking, taking themselves too seriously, jovial. 
Education - important to him. 
Live your life based on what you have learned rather than the exceptions

The ingredients that keep people engaged in an 

Balance of coolness and professionalism
*Discretion - overly doing something can affect the relationship with the client
The more the client is comfortable the successful the interaction will be. 

Rick’s Nuggets

Opener “open to hearing about something career advancing”
Don’t pitch your job, company or yourself
Find out what’s happening with you?

Key Takeaways:

Empirical stuff- education, background & skills
Interpretative- talk to people that have worked with you. Subjective perspective
His Gut instinct- in conjunction with the other two