Through the hiring process, great care is made to select the best person possible for the job. The right person on the job makes operations run smoothly and efficiently with positive outcomes. The wrong person on the job disrupts progress, requires excess productivity maintenance; and often getting rid of the wrong person is very difficult.
Hiring the best person possible is important for any job and certainly true for the President of the United States of America. The person we hire to lead the Government's Executive Branch, represents the people of the United States for four years. Here are some steps to help choose the best person possible for the job:
1. Know The Job. How can we hire correctly for a position we know little about. Even if I am familiar with a position, I like to review the job requirements--especially from official sources:
The President is the Head of the Executive Branch and generally viewed as the head of the U.S. Government. While he does have significant power, his power is limited by the Constitution. Specifically, the Constitution assigns the following powers to the President:
- Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
- Make treaties, with two-thirds consent of the Senate
- Receive ambassadors and other public ministers from foreign countries
- Appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, and any officials as provided for by the Congress, with the approval of the Senate
- Give an annual State of the Union Address to Congress
- Recommend legislation to Congress
- Convene Congress on extraordinary occasions
- Adjourn Congress, in cases of a disagreement about adjournment
- "Take care that the laws be faithfully executed"
- Fill in administrative vacancies during Congressional recesses
- Grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the U.S.
Vice President: President of the Senate and becomes President if the President is unable to serve.
2. Identify Values. In addition to reviewing the skills and experience required for the job, it is important to identify the values and characteristics you want in the person you hire for the position. Sometimes a person may have a resume full of experience and skills, but has values inconsistent with your philosophies, or character conflicting with the image you strive to uphold, or characteristics that don't quite fit the position. Examples of Values: honesty, hard-working, cooperative, consistent, humble, bold, good listener, decisive, self-initiative, teachable, good judgement, self-discipline, creative, persistent, respectful, wise, non-confrontational, follows-through, aggressive, willing to uphold change, compassionate, etc.....
3. Review Resumes and References. Candidates interested in the job generally provide an application, resume, and cover letter in their best attempt to persuasively attract you to their experience, skills, and values. You then separate the individuals you would like to interview. Things are more complicated in the Presidential hiring process, members of political parties tend to do the sorting to determine who the general public will 'interview'. However, the general public still prompts the
Electoral College, so it is important to review the candidates Resumes. You can look at the Candidates' experience in Congress:
Congressional Record,
Senate,
House of Representatives. You can also look at the Candidate's
Official State Websites. Of course there are always the candidates' official websites:
There are several third-party websites designed to help the public research and compare candidates and their views:
Other sites help clear-up false information:
4. The Interview. The interview gives you the opportunity to gather a lot of verbal and non-verbal information about the candidate to help with your decision. You can see how they react and respond to questions. You can see how they process information and draw conclusions. You can see how they interact with others and portray themselves. You can find out how they would handle specific scenarios. The challenge with the Presidential interviews is that it's usually other people interviewing and asking the questions, but we still have a chance to see how they react and answer the questions. The other challenge is when more than one candidate interviews at the same time--mentally navigating debates is a challenge because the candidates often try to answer on behalf of their opponent. However, the debates do give us an opportunity to see how the candidates handle pressure and challenges to their ideology.
5. Make Your Decision. After reviewing and analyzing the information you gathered throughout the hiring process, you are ready to make your decision. You then extend your offer to the candidate. Please research well and submit your ballot on time because, although the hiring panel consists of many individuals, your voice is an important part of the decision-making process.
6. Support the New Hire. When the new person is hired and starts the job, its important to respect the decision of the panel and to support the new employee in their role and give them the opportunity to magnify their position. Give them the opportunity to be successful. That doesn't mean they can get away with whatever they want...they are still accountable to their employer. Sometimes they need coaching and correction and sometimes disciplinary action may be necessary.
That's not so simple in the Presidential Elections. We may disagree with the President, we may disagree with the results of the 'hiring panel'. However, we respect the process and the structure of the government which was established by inspired men. We can support the President of the United States and encourage him/her to represent us well. If the President requires coaching or correction or discipline, the governmental structure provides for those checks and balances through Congress and the Judicial System. We, too, as a people, can offer guidance to the President by hiring good Senators and Representatives and communicating our concerns to them and encouraging them to support the good things and challenge the questionable things the President does. Through our voice to our governmental representatives in congress we can promote coaching and correction and sometimes discipline of our newly hired President.
Ultimately, we are blessed to live in this country with the government we have. Although it's easy to find faults with decisions people and groups make, we are blessed with the freedom to express differences with the government. And we do have a voice in how our government behaves. The challenge to us is to do our part, respectfully, to voice our desires in the appropriate manner--realizing that we as individuals and governmental officials are not perfect, but together as a body of citizens, we are strong and can watch out for each other and confront challenges together.
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