1. Three rules to recruit talent for your
team
Author: Mike Le (06/16/2010)
I read an article on Inc.com written by Jason Fried from the company 37signals, entitle "Never read
another Resume",about how to recruit the right people for your company.
At CBI we follow the three recruiting rules (1) value personality over experience, (2) when hiring the best
designers, look for sensitivity and big-egos, (3) make sure the people you hire for virtual office are active
communicators.
1. Value personality over experience
When we first opened Vietnamese office in early 2009, I had intended to hire several experienced
developers that would deliver high-quality work immediately. However, to my surprise, my first hire was
the youngest of the candidates who was 24 at that time, had only 18-month experience and had
switched 2-3 jobs before my interview. This young man persuaded me with his honesty and dedication,
and I just had a strong feeling that I have to hire him. I think people with honesty and dedication will
always excel in anything they do.
This employee was not only a quick learner, but also was able to multitask at high speed without any
hesitation. We later had more experienced employees joining the workforce, but the young man that we
hired has always been one of our best people today.
When you hire people, trust your feeling and value personality. It will pay off greatly.
2. Look for big-ego, emotional designers
Hiring designers is a little complicated. Talented designers are emotional and sensitive, so managing
them properly can be a challenge. However, I will not hire any designers who are not emotional, because
they will not be able to create exceptional work. Design is about emotion, and I look for designers
who have a strong personality, (not too) big of an ego, and the desire to create great work. I
require top quality from our designers, and from time to time I may have arguments with our designers,
but we respect each other professionally. After interviewing many designers, I only work with a few of
them, and today I can say that Conative Business has some of the finest web designers in the industry.

2. 3. Recruit active communicators for virtual office space
Virtual office space is no longer a new concept, and due to flexibility, simplicity and economics it has
become popular. At Conative Business, we hire a lot of remote employees from many different locations.
But one should also know that not everyone can work effectively virtually. Working virtually, you have
no supervisor, no peer motivation, and no face to face communication. We recruit people who
are proactive, responsible and have good communication skills. Thus, we can have multiple projects
going on with not too many people in the main offices.
Communication skills are important. At Conative Business, we have a simple rule: Any incoming email
must be replied to within 24 hours. It shows respect. A one-sentence reply is acceptable, e.g. "Got it.
Will reply soon" but there must be a reply. There are no excuses. This seems to be simple however to
develop this habit actually takes a long time. The employees we hired must be active communicators.
When they don't know something they need, we expect them to ask proactively. It saves us a lot of time.
In this economy, hiring the right people can be the key to win or fail. We believe that personality makes all
the difference.