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Should I hire this person?

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Edwin

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Should i hire a person who did an M.A. in Critical Studies from USC because he speaks mandarin and thai? i need a mandarin speaking person to negotiate in china. The problem is he shows altruistic tendencies. He thinks companies should practice corporate social responsibility.
 
And my company can potentially go against the grain of political correctness.
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It's hard to say, depending on your circumstances. Do you have any other hiring prospects? How urgent is your need to hire? How much do you think his "altruistic tendencies" will affect this particular position, or the company as a whole?

No employee is Francisco D'Anconia. If you think he will do a good job and serve your purposes, won't create more headaches than he cures, is mostly honest, etc., then something as vague and as-yet-unproven as "altruistic tendencies" probably shouldn't matter.

Edited by JASKN
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Should i hire a person who did an M.A. in Critical Studies from USC because he speaks mandarin and thai? i need a mandarin speaking person to negotiate in china. The problem is he shows altruistic tendencies. He thinks companies should practice corporate social responsibility.
 
And my company can potentially go against the grain of political correctness.

 

 

Critical studies is often founded in critical theory. Critical theory has marxist roots. If you want to hire someone who is passionately interested in the social implications of everything you do, hire this person. As for me, I don't think that I would hire Ellsworth M. Toohey.

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You are hiring for your own interest.  

The bottom line is and should be:   Does his skill set and behavior benefit your company?     

The only way his beliefs would change things is if he negotiated with those beliefs as a basis.    All you would have to do is make that clear that kind of negotiation would be unacceptable and you run your business differently..     His results should be easy to indicate if he is following your interests or not.

Edited by LandonWalsh
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Should i hire a person who did an M.A. in Critical Studies from USC because he speaks mandarin and thai? i need a mandarin speaking person to negotiate in china.

While I would lean more towards Jaskn's assertions for most types of employees (with the sole addition that you should trust, but verify) a negotiator is something different, because to "understand" some statement requires more than a familiarity with all of the words involved.

 

Suppose you wanted to say that taxes are unavoidable, as in the saying about "death and taxes".  While it seems like a perfectly trivial statement, a Marxist might translate it into something to the effect of "everyone must pay their fair share" which would denote almost the same thing, but with antithetical connotations.

And I'm not even talking about deliberate sabotage; that's what a Marxist would do if they were trying to help you.

 

So while this candidate may speak English, I would urge you to ensure that you hire a negotiator who really grasps it the way you do, if that's possible.  If there are no other options then just try to keep the discussion as perceptual as possible.

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Should i hire a person who did an M.A. in Critical Studies from USC because he speaks mandarin and thai? i need a mandarin speaking person to negotiate in china. The problem is he shows altruistic tendencies. He thinks companies should practice corporate social responsibility.

 

And my company can potentially go against the grain of political correctness.

I think you're right to be worried, especially in a developing economy like China's, where trust isn't really backed up by the force of law. Find someone you can trust a little more, if possible.

If you think he will do a good job and serve your purposes, won't create more headaches than he cures

It's hard to foresee all the headaches hiring someone who believes you have no moral right to your wealth can create for you.

Holding one's close business associates to a high moral standards is crucial. Just as crucial as holding one's friends and family to one. Would you marry someone who thinks you're a parasite on "the people"?

Edited by Nicky
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Holding one's close business associates to a high moral standards is crucial. Just as crucial as holding one's friends and family to one. Would you marry someone who thinks you're a parasite on "the people"?

Can't disagree here. In my experience, though, something as broad as a college degree isn't going to tell me what I really need to know about hiring someone. There are a lot of useless/terrible "focuses" at college. Should that criteria alone cut new employee prospects from consideration? I don't think it should.

What is the candidate's personality like in person? What does he like to spend his time doing? What's a realistic picture of his work ethic? Will he be honest in his reports to me? Are his "ideals" strongly held, and in what ways? How important will his position actually be, and now far will he influence actual business decisions? Do I simply need an accurate translator who can keep a poker face, and nothing more? Etc.

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The problem is he shows altruistic tendencies. He thinks companies should practice corporate social responsibility.
 
And my company can potentially go against the grain of political correctness.

 

People will lie and exaggerate in interviews. So, how certain are you about his views? Also, have you explained your company to him tried to gauge his reaction?

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