Joe the Plumber

I was thinking about Joe the Plumber from the election this month and why he’s a perfect analogy for the typical recruiting process.

Joe the Plumber comes to prominence by voicing concerns about being taxed under Senator Obama’s tax reform.  He’s worried that the plumbing business he is buying will put him over $250K in earnings and he’ll be punished by new tax laws proposed by the Senator.

Now Joe is a national figure; mentioned in news articles, tv shows, and a very public debate.

Only, Joe isn’t what he says he is.

He isn’t a licensed plumber
He’s had cursory conversations about taking over a 3 man plumbing business that nets $100K a year (not $250K)
He’s had two tax liens in the last year, one that is still outstanding
He’s signed up for a plumbing apprenticeship but has never finished it
He makes about $45K a year.

His celebrity was nothing by hype.

Sound like any candidates you’ve dealt with? 

The McCain camp says they can’t possibly check out the backgrounds and stories of every person that may reach conversational status but they do admit that Senator McCain’s standing up for him and calling him “rich” on national TV may have been a mistake.

Hiring managers and John McCain have a lot in common.  They buy the hype, they believe what they want to believe and they more often than not, hire on the news and end up firing on the facts.

As Recruiters, it is OUR responsibility to weed out the Joe the Plumbers from our process.  We have to stand up to the hype and be willing to point out that all that glitters is not gold.