Starbucks' CIO Seeks Strength During Economic Storm

14.01.2009
Most IT managers' first hires are programmers or tech support specialists. But not , the . The first person he ever hired as an IT leader was a CFO who became his boss. Talk about trial by fire.

Gillett, who joined in May 2008, has been through all manner of job interviews with candidates during his short career (he's only 32.) He once had a job seeker show up drunk for an interview. Another candidate had the gall to tell Gillett quite clearly that the candidate wasn't interested in the job so much as he wanted to move up inside the company.

Those candidates have distinguished themselves, which is what Gillett looks for in job seekers, but not the right way. Starbucks is in the middle of a high-stakes, high-profile turnaround during what is the worst economy since the Great Depression, and Gillett needs employees who are dedicated to Starbucks' revitalization, who can wow him with new ideas and who've helped other companies successfully emerge from financial downturns. Traditional job seekers who send traditional résumés and follow-up notes, who follow traditional job search protocols seem to bore him. But who "think differentiation with a capital D" demonstrate the qualities Gillett is looking to add to his 1,000-person IT organization at Starbucks.

"I received a professional résumé for a highly qualified candidate, and when I got down to the hobby section, it said, "I can juggle four things at once and I lost Jeopardy," says Gillett. "That differentiated the candidate for me and actually got the candidate to the top of my stack."

Here, Gillett discusses his process for interviewing those outstanding candidates, his effort to make Starbucks a "destination employer" for sought-after IT professionals, and the biggest hiring mistake he ever made.

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