Spring is in the air, the gardens are in bloom at racing venues all across Australia, and with the race that stops a nation just over one week away, even those of us who never gamble are getting ready to pick a winner!

Some people will place their bets based on the colour of the jockey's attire, the barrier number the horse is starting from, or perhaps even based on the name of the actual horse (who would you tip as a winner ... Island Streaker, Regal Stallion, or To the Point?). But then there are those serious punters who will conduct in-depth research into each of the horses' past races and results based on track and weather conditions, length of the race, weight of the jockey etc.

Now whilst many of my previous blog postings have been tailored predominantly towards candidates, I decided that I would write this posting for the many employers (and hiring managers) out there who unfortunately often approach the recruitment process as they do Cup Day - going into it on a whim, making superficial judgements and literally "picking a winner" based entirely on gut feel.

This is a dangerous approach.

Sticking with the horse racing analogy, as a hiring manager it is extremely important that you look into a candidate's past performance and results since that really is the best way to predict their future performance. You may have laughed at the idea of placing your bet based on the colour or design of the jockey's cap, but making a decision to hire someone based on their CV alone is just as risky.

Remember you shouldn't be hiring a new member of your team based on their ability to get the job (what their CV looks like). Instead you should be hiring them based on their ability to do (and ideally exceed) in the role in question which you can only learn through competency-, behavioural-, or performance-based interviewing.

See you at the track!