Tammy Kornberg is one of my favorite people on the planet! Her and her crazy funny husband Mitch are a blast to hang with. They both just love life. I hired Tammy to sell almost four years ago, and she has done nothing but knock it out of the park.
But how she got hired is interesting. She was working at a restaurant as manager at a high-end place when Dave and his son Daniel came in to eat. She really took care of him and treated him like a normal person. In the process, the discussion came up that she was looking for a daytime job.
Dave liked Tammy so much that he told her to bypass our system and bring her resume straight to his personal assistant. (Now, you should know that this kind of thing just doesn’t happen. If you’re thinking you’ll attack Dave with a resume, let me say that it won’t work.)
Tammy brought her resume by that April….in August she got a call. And even then it was for a temp position. But, it was for the best team in the building…mine! Needless to say, not only did she get hired, but she got hired full-time and has been killing it ever since.
But it was after some serious scrutiny from HR, my personal assistant, my sales team leader in that area, my EVP, me, and an interview with my spouse; as was with any hire for my team. It was eight months from the dinner, to me hiring her full-time. And at our place, that’s not bad.
Not only does it take a long time to get hired at Dave Ramsey‘s organization, but your chances are low. In fact, last year we had three thousand applications, one thousand interviews, and we hired thirty people. Yep, we have a one percent acceptance rate. Just a little comparison for you, Harvard has a seven percent acceptance rate.
Why so low you might ask. Plain and simple, we take our time. We don’t rush the process of hiring. In fact, it’s not uncommon for me to meet with leaders who hate the people who they’ve hired. When I ask the interview process, it’s usually one or two steps long. Ours is at least four, and usually greater than five. What are just some of the things we do:
- We pray!
- We post the job with enough detail that it can rule out the person before they even apply.
- We have them take a personality test when it’s down to two or three candidates.
- We look for the character traits we want for that position.
- We get a personal budget so we know they can afford to work here.
- We make sure they are here for more than just a j.o.b.
There’s a lot more, but this should give you an idea. When hiring, take….your….time. Use the ratio of two to one; you have two ears and one mouth, so use the ears twice as much. Let the candidate do the talking. Who knows, they might just rule themselves out right in front of you.
Chris, you’re hands down one of my favorite people on the planet as well! Thank you so much for giving me a chance. Although, a more timely manner would have been appreciated ;). Also, not only hiring me but taking the time to mature my “D”. The difference your time and care has made in my personal life has been just as important (if not more so)than in my professional life. You are the epitome of what a true leader should be!
I love hearing stories about how people got hired here because they are all so interesting.
Mine was that I was standing on my deck one day and I was ready to leave the YMCA. I prayed and said, “God, I am never going to find a company that I believe in as much as the YMCA” and God responded, “You are going to work for Dave Ramsey.”
I had no idea who Dave Ramsey was so I Googled him and bought some books to find out. 🙂
What did you mean by ‘funny’? Like, ‘ha-ha’ funny, or ‘odd’ funny. I mean, what, am I here to amuse you? Am I some kind of a clown, or something?
I also noticed in your post that you use the adjective (that’s a word that describes a noun – and a noun, if you remember ‘Schoolhouse Rock’, is a person, place, or thing; sing it! “a noun is a person, place, or thing, Oo oo oo oo oo! Oo oo oo oo oo!”)Anyway, don’t distract me! You use the word “crazy”. So, now I’m a freakin’ lunatic that needs to be institutionalized!
That’s it, LoCurto! I’m not coming over your place to eat your food and drink your beverages anymore! You’re out! Who’s crazy funny now, jerky boy? Fuggehdaboudit!
Thank you and God bless. Mitch
CONGRATULATIONS Tammy! Enjoyed reading her comments almost more than the post from Chris!
As a small business owner with skill more attuned to my profession, hiring is one of my weakest traits since I do it so little. I like that you touched the surface on hiring processes, but are there more in depth material available for us to learn more about the hiring process and various strategies? Thanks in advance.
Hey Terry, thanks for commenting. I hate to give you a sales pitch but I teach a lot on the hiring process in EntreLeadership. It’s pretty extensive and unique. We also cover it some in EntreLeadership 1 day. Is there a specific thing you feel like you struggle with, or is it pretty much the whole process?
I feel that it is the whole process. There have been times that I nailed it and got a great employee. However, I feel the majority of times, I am throwing darts at a board? Over time, I get better with time. Three years ago, I downsized to just myself in order to reorganize and get the business on better footing. I feel that I am on the cusp of beginning to let the business grow again and this will eventually involve employees. I am taking the next year to learn as much as I can about leadership, hiring, team building as well as other things.
I hope too someday be able to take EntreLeadership, but live in a rural part of the southwest and am still stabilizing my financial situation. Maybe, I will get the chance to meet you and attend one of the seminars. If you have other reading material or can get Dave to speak more on the subject in his radio show, that is how I would be able to do at this immediate time. Thanks for the response.