Hiring op-ed

Branson writes in Entrepreneur that hiring is the most important role for a CEO:

During the job interview, you need to find ways to decide whether a candidate fits with your company culture. One great way to test this may be to ask two or three of the employees who would work with this person to join you at some point in the interview, and to come prepared with a few of their own questions.

A resume doesn’t give a complete picture:

Above all, don’t get hung up on qualifications. A person who has multiple degrees in your field isn’t always better than someone who has broad experience and a great personality.

Hiring managers should take chances:

A maverick who sees opportunities where others see problems can energize your entire group.

Bring in new people when the business is stale:

Two of the Virgin Group’s higher-profile hires were John Borghetti, now the CEO of Virgin Australia, and Craig Kreeger, Virgin Atlantic’s CEO. John had worked at Quantas Airlines and Craig had worked at American Airlines, so they knew our competition well, and were able to give us a fresh take on our business