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How to Spot Creative Potential in Others - Part 5

Mr. C. M. Sinnett, of RCA-Victor's Television Engineering Department, describes the process of interviewing to determine creative potential this way:

If we are going to identify creativity, then we must separate and define some of the main characteristics possessed to a greater extent by the creative individual or engineer than by his less creative or even non-creative brother. In the final analysis, these characteristics may be mixed up in the genes, chromosomes, or hormones, but as far as I know, this has not been determined. We shall have to deal with factors which are visible to us, or can be found without the help of the electron microscope, radioactive materials, or the encephalograph.

In other words, we must apply common sense, experience, intuition, and a lot of plain "seat of the pants" judgment. I agree that this sounds very prosaic, but the method is quite effective after all.

Having thus removed all the glamour and most of the science from the subject, just what do we have to go on? I believe we can break it down into two basic categories: surface characteristics and mental processes. Some of the surface characteristics which can establish a basis for a first impression or judgment of an individual are (1) gen­eral appearance, (2) speech, (3) hobbies, and (4) experience. Please note that I said "first impression" because we are barely starting on our dissective road.

Let us now consider a couple of illustrative examples. These may be extreme cases, but I have seen both types many times on college campuses while recruiting. In fact, they can be found in almost any Engineering Department if one cares to take the time to look for them. On occasions we may rely too heavily on these first impressions, and then have a rude awakening as the interview proceeds. This hap­pens so seldom, however, that I believe it is no more than the ex­ception that proves the rule.

We shall assume that you are sitting behind a desk and have the job of interviewing several candidates for a position in your Engi­neering Department. Approaching you is a young man in his twenties. As he walks toward you it is obvious that he is no Beau Brummell as far as attire is concerned. There is really nothing radically wrong about it, but you have the overall impression that his mind was on many other things than his appearance when he got dressed. I don't imply that the creative person is never well-dressed, but if you will look around you and observe the highly creative people you know, you will probably find that the majority of them dress with an air of careless abandon. As your prospect comes closer, you note that he is looking straight at you; that any movement of his eyes is quick; and there is no outward sign of nervousness. In other words, he is as anxious to meet you as you are to meet him. He appears utterly self-confident and possesses an intensity of purpose that is unmistak­able.

With these preliminaries out of the way, we have the next check point—his manner of speech. You note in talking to him that he will carry his share of the conversation irrespective of the subject being discussed. His grammar may not be perfect and on occasion he may not say exactly what he means, but his speech tends to be snappy and to the point. No difficulty is found in getting him to talk about any­thing.

As you delve into his hobbies and experience, you find that he has done many things outside school hours. He has built radio receivers or amplifiers and perhaps serviced them for his neighbors. While he was in high school, he built model airplanes, even reaching the radio-controlled gas model stage. He dabbled a bit in photography, includ­ing developing, printing, and enlarging his own prints, and can dis­cuss intelligently such things as lenses, light meters, exposure time, film speeds, etc.

By now you are convinced this is the man you want and the only problem is how to land him. I don't know the answer to this part of the story. At any rate, there is no need to spend further time question­ing him, so an offer is made and you look for the next applicant.

As this fellow approaches you, his appearance, particularly his clothes and bearing, are sort of ordinary. There is nothing unusual about him that you can detect. As he comes toward you, he may look straight at you but there is no fire in his eyes—they are not exactly listless, but his attitude seems to be one of "Well, here I am; try and find out something about me!" His handshake is perfunctory, there is no particular life to it, and you wish there was some way to strike a spark in him. So far you have a negative impression regard­ing his creative ability, but perhaps you are wrong. It may be that he is reticent, scared, an introvert, or able to hide his true feelings.

You start the interview by asking him questions regarding his school work, his laboratory experiments, his outside experience, etc. To all questions you get answers, but they have no particular interest factor connected with them. Delving into his hobbies indicates that he has never tinkered with electronic devices or the construction of any kind of a model. He does like to golf and fish and has always been fond of athletics. When asked why he took up engineering, he isn't too sure, but basically he feels that it is a good line to get into, partic­ularly since there is a shortage of engineers. He feels there is not much the matter with anything you can think of; no improvements which need to be made. By this time you are convinced that he is not creative and unless some miracle occurs, he never will be creative.

It should be remembered that Mr. Sinnett's interviewing is done with the view of locating creative potential for television engineering. Hence his emphasis on previous demonstrations of interest in electronics by the candidates. An executive interview­ing prospective workers in other fields should be similarly pre­pared to question previous experiences and interests that would indicate a real inclination toward the field the candidate is being considered for. As one example, a young man applying for an office or administrative-type job may show signs of imaginative ability through previous accomplishments as an "administrator" in one of the "Junior Achievement" groups so popular among high school students.

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