Dr. John W. Mitchell has a background in both electrical engineering and “andragogy”—the education of adults. Mitchell is invested in “how we create dynamic, supportive, and innovative workspaces,” and it’s clear in FIRE YOUR HIRING HABITS that the answer lies in workforce development: companies must enact policies to find, cultivate, and retain the best talent.
Appropriately for a text focused on education and training, FIRE YOUR HIRING HABITS has a strong pedagogical structure. Keywords are pulled out of the text and defined in cutouts for extra visual punch while visual aids are scattered throughout, though a clever chart never steals the show from the clear, assertive prose. The text is replete with real-life examples of its principles, drawn from the author’s global experiences, but each section also highlights each specific principle by presenting an imagined dichotomy between two companies pursuing their goals in diametrically opposite ways. Every chapter has a summary of key concepts at the end. If nothing else, FIRE YOUR HIRING HABITS proves its pedagogical bona fides.
But the text also succeeds in bringing some much-needed perspective to corporate hiring and workforce management, a field that can only feel overly complicated and opaque (especially for those seeking work). Explicitly modern, with precise references to the market changes wrought by the COVID pandemic, FIRE YOUR HIRING HABITS puts the onus on companies to dynamically respond to new realities. The text is full-throated in its endorsement of new norms like remote/hybrid work and diversity initiatives, with very blunt reasoning: by the numbers, companies that accept and integrate these changes to the workforce and work life are more productive and more profitable.
There are some lacunae here. This book could use a deeper discussion of the role of conventional HR departments in conflict resolution, for instance, not just hiring; its remarks about “higher education” deserve some unpacking, especially about the relationships between vocational schools and universities; and its section on the history of labor is too brief. But overall, FIRE YOUR HIRING HABITS is a loud reminder from a seasoned voice that the professional world has changed (including quite rapid changes over the last five years) and companies must embrace those changes to survive, compete, and succeed.
Dr. John W. Mitchell’s FIRE YOUR HIRING HABITS is a clear-eyed and much-needed call to action for complacent companies that underinvest in their workforce.
~Dan Accardi for IndieReader