Finding Good Problem Solvers!!

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Interestingly, my question starts with the presentation of a problem. I need to find people that are good at solving problems.

While have several that work for me now, I encounter so many people in the hiring process that are very low on problem solving skills. I decided to read a little about problem solving on Wikipedia, and according to the article, problem solving is "considered the most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as a higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of more routine or fundamental skills."

Could Wikipedia be right? Is problem solving so complex that few people are able to harness the needed "intellectual functions". Sadly, I have found that hiring people from my own country (the USA) often has its pitfalls. Just this week I was reminded of this.
The instructions were to provide the distance between cities on a route between Georgia and California, and list pet friendly hotels (a couple for each city). I was paying about $13/hour for this work (via odesk).

I hired two different people. One still has shown zero results after 4 days though saying they are working. The other just failed to follow instructions. She was actually typing the driving directions from Google maps over to the document (not even cut and paste). After letting her know the error, I have now paid almost $50 and I have 5 hotels listed so far! I listed the first two myself as I was telling her how to do the work! It took me 5 minutes!

So grrrrrr!

I'm just about ready to hire someone from Europe to help me plan a trip in the United States!

And if anyone has a recommendation for a person that would be good with this, give me a shout. I'm seriously thinking of making a test people have to pass before they can begin any work for me.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #finding #good #problem #solvers
  • Problem solving is not a special skill. You just need smart people.

    But the truth is: there are not that many smart people around. Just take a look at what is standing in front and behind you when you buy groceries...

    Yes, sometimes you see somebody that at least looks smart but very often you see people that do not look very smart to say the least.

    Now I am not going into a long rant on how all this can be changed with good education.

    What this mean for you right now:

    1. You have to interview more people.

    2. Once you find somebody that seems fine, give them a small test task.

    3. Once somebody completes the test task successfully you can assign the next (small)
    task with GOOD instructions. A video showing how you do it works best.

    4. Then do NOT expect to get perfect work after 1 try. It takes weeks until you have trained
    a good person to do small tasks.

    HP

    PS:
    A good start would be the Warrior for hire section.
    Somebody that has found the warrior forum is usually
    way above normal as far as skills is concerned.
    • [1] reply
    • Sometimes you dont even have to be that smart, just persistent.
      • [1] reply
  • The problem with problem solving is that it takes time. Interview your employees through skype. I have had good and bad luck with outsourcing, but mostly it has been good. You just have to get a specialist in the area you need work done in. Depending on the task you can get people from India and the Philippines really cheap. You can get some really amazing staff from other countries. I wouldn't be hiring locally any time soon.
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    Finding Good Problem Solvers!!

    Interestingly, my question starts with the presentation of a problem. I need to find people that are good at solving problems. While have several that work for me now, I encounter so many people in the hiring process that are very low on problem solving skills. I decided to read a little about problem solving on Wikipedia, and according to the article, problem solving is "considered the most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as a higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of more routine or fundamental skills."