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A Recruitment Process That’s Out of This World: How NASA Selects Astronauts

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Summary

This article discusses NASA's recruitment process for their astronauts. They take a team-centric approach and only select a new class of astronauts every four years. Candidates must meet minimum requirements and pass physical and psychological assessments. The selection board evaluates candidates through interviews and exercises designed to showcase strengths and weaknesses. These scenarios are used to assess the candidates' ability to work as part of a team. NASA's goal is to select a crew that is representative of the nation. The article also outlines the lessons that can be learned from NASA's recruitment process, such as being clear about what you're looking for and looking beyond a resume.

Q&As

What recruitment strategies does NASA use to select astronauts?
NASA uses a team-centric approach to hiring, meaning they recruit small groups of new astronauts at a time. They also consider the diversity of the team as well as how well the individuals on the team work together.

How does NASA assess the qualifications of applicants?
NASA evaluates applicants to identify whether they possess certain technical requirements such as a master’s degree in a science, engineering, or math field and a minimum of two years of relevant professional experience. They also have to pass a physical, along with psychological assessments.

How does NASA evaluate candidates' soft skills?
NASA evaluates candidates' soft skills such as leadership, followership, agility, and the ability to react quickly under pressure.

What methods does NASA use to evaluate how candidates might react to real-life scenarios?
NASA assesses how candidates respond to real-life scenarios by putting them through situational experiences and exercises designed to showcase strengths and weaknesses. They also observe and assess people's behaviors around the nontechnical competencies.

How has NASA progressed in terms of diversity in their astronaut recruitment process?
In the 1960s, the first astronauts were all white men; the first African American in space was Guion Bluford in 1983 and Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. Now, 40 years later, NASA has made progress in terms of diversity in their astronaut recruitment process.

AI Comments

👍 This article provides excellent insights into how NASA goes through the recruitment process and how it is different from conventional recruitment processes.

👎 The article does not provide much information on how other organizations can apply the same recruitment process to their own hiring practices.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about how NASA selects astronauts. It goes into detail about the recruitment process and how it's different from other processes.

Friend: That's really interesting. What implications does it have?

Me: Well, I think it shows that with the right recruitment process in place, organizations can find the right candidates to represent their diverse population. It also highlights how important it is to consider the overall team when recruiting and to look beyond the resume for behavioral assessments. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of having clear expectations and testing them with real-world scenarios.

Action items

Research other organizations that have successfully implemented a team-centric approach to hiring.
Develop a recruitment process that tests for the skills and strengths that your ideal candidate should possess.
Create a plan to assess how candidates respond to real-world scenarios in order to identify their ability to be a good team member.

Technical terms

Recruiting Strategy: A plan of action for how to find and hire the best candidates for a job.
Diversity: The inclusion of people of different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives in a group or organization.
Leadership: The ability to lead and motivate others.
Followership: The ability to work well with and support a leader.
Agility: The ability to quickly and easily adapt to changing circumstances.
Soft Skills: Personal qualities and interpersonal skills that are not related to a specific job or task.
Weeding Out: The process of eliminating candidates from consideration who do not have the qualifications for the job.
Funnel: A process of narrowing down a large pool of applicants to a smaller number of candidates.
Sifting Through: The process of carefully examining a large number of applications to identify the best candidates.
Winnowing: The process of reducing a large number of applicants to a smaller number of candidates.
Spacewalks: A type of extravehicular activity (EVA) in which an astronaut leaves a spacecraft and moves around in the vacuum of space.
Physical: A medical examination to assess a person's physical health.
Psychological Assessments: Tests that measure a person's mental and emotional state.
Situational Experiences: Real-life scenarios that are used to assess how a candidate would respond in a given situation.
Team Leader: A person who is responsible for leading a team and ensuring that tasks are completed.
Upskilling: The process of teaching employees new skills to help them become more productive and successful.
Reskilling: The process of teaching employees new skills to help them transition to a different job or career.
Talent Connect: A platform that helps employers find and hire the best talent.
Career Coaching: A type of professional development that helps individuals identify and reach their career goals.
Time Management: The process of organizing and planning how to divide one's time between specific activities.
Projects: A feature of LinkedIn Recruiter that helps employers manage their talent pipeline.