Top Chef -- Who would you hire?

Although I normally try to avoid reality TV, my wife and I watch Top Chef religiously.

On last night's episode there were two things that jumped out at me as being completely related to our world of recruiting.

For those of you who are not fans of the show, the contestants are down to the wire. There were only 4 remaining, and they were required to cook in a foreign country, in a small kitchen with a team member who was assigned to them. Sound like any projects you have worked on?

One of the strongest contestants walked into the kitchen to discover that the meat for one of her dishes had accidentally been left out overnight by her partner. It was useless 5 hours before service.

It was the perfect behavioral interviewing scenario. Facing catastrophe, she didn't blame her partner. She moved on instantly, collaborated with the same person who had screwed up and came up with what ended up being her strongest dish. She lived to fight another day.

I am going to remember her the next time I am facing a crisis and need to manage it.

The second vignette that struck me was that the contestant who was facing elimination but hung on by her fingernails got upset at the two high performers. She was angry that they didn't congratulate her on not being eliminated. She is 27. That's a millennial, right?

So, maybe sometimes art does imitate life. And maybe I can call watching trashy television work related.