Tips for Thorough Screening and Interview Processes

A lot of interviewers still use their gut when interviewing. Then wonder why they make bad hires. Hiring with data is the only way to improve quality. Here are 3 ways you can start: Step 1: Get very clear about what you are looking for The days of "I'll know it when I see it" worked in a candidate-heavy market. But in-demand skills may mean you only screen one candidate a week. Instead, spend time scoping EXACTLY what you are looking for by laying out the 90-day and 365-day expectations for the role. Then, map those expectations to the knowledge, skills, and traits that your new hire will need to meet those expectations. These are your must-have requirements; anything else is optional. Step 2: Setup an interview process that is mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive Once you have your "must have" list, set up your recruiting process to test an aspect of each by stage. Start with simple qualification questions on the first screen: Is this person looking for a startup role? Has this person demonstrated the key skills required for this role? Can we realistically close this candidate if we make them an offer? Only pass through candidates that pass those qualification questions, then use each subsequent stage to test increasingly complex requirements. Step 3: Hold interviewers accountable to share supporting data with their feedback Finally, make sure that you attach tangible data collected in the interview to any recommendation. Rather than "I like this person," use objective language such as "this person talked through how they overcame a difficult challenge this way... and that is directly relatable to this must-have requirement ..." Hire for competence, not likeability. --- There's so much more to building a good hiring process, but just these 3 changes could make the difference between the emotional toil of early termination and the relief of onboarding a 10x performer. What else would you recommend? #hiring #recruitment #quality

One of the toughest aspects of the hiring process is figuring out who isn't a good fit. Some people are good at interviewing but awful at the actual job... You gotta try to identify those people early on. Here are 5 screening questions that will help you figure out how people think and who they are: 1) What is your superpower? - What is easy for you but looks like work to others? - Why? * This quickly helps you figure out if they are going to be a good fit for the role you're hiring for. 2) What did the progression of your last role look like? - Where did you start? - What did the role like like when you finished? * Are they willing to expand their role and think outside of the box, or are they a 'thats not my job' type of person. 3) Give me an example of a process you started with and then improved? - as specific as possible * If they can clearly walk you thru how how they made it much more efficient/advanced, they are a problem solver. 4) What was your hardest day on the job? - How did you handle it? - What was the outcome? * You want them to quickly identify a tough day, not get too negative, and explain the problem in great detail, how they fixed it, and whether or not it worked, and why. 5) What were you most proud of in your last role? - What did the process look like that got you there? * A huge aspect of any job is ownership. Working with people with no sense of pride or ownership is going to be tough. You get a feel for both based on how this question is answered. **Keep screening calls to 15 minutes (and save both parties a ton of time) All of these questions are broad and open-ended, by design. There are no right or wrong answers; you're simply trying to get a stream of consciousness about how the other person thinks critically. With that data, you can make the call on whether or not they will fit in your organization and the specific role you're hiring for.

Most hiring advice is garbage. At Winc, I was responsible for hiring dozens of key roles, from General Managers of our key brands, to heads of departments like performance marketing, retention, data, and engineering. I made some A+ hires, but also made some terrible ones. Here’s how I would structure a hiring process if I had to redo it all again. 1. Ditch the corporate-speak job posting and source 10-20 quality candidates via LinkedIn The best candidates are not applying to jobs. You spend a ton of time drafting a job post, and even more time combing through unqualified or low-intent resumes. Instead, I’d get LinkedIn Sales Navigator and look for rising talent that is 1 level below the role you’re trying to hire for with experience at similarly sized (or slightly larger) companies . For example, if you’re hiring for a Director of Retention, reach out to Senior Retention Managers. This is similar to the approach a recruiter may take and will save you $25K+ in commissions. 2. Ask detailed, personalized questions in the interview Forget vague, templated questions like “Tell me your 3 biggest strengths and weaknesses.” Those questions are lazy, and most candidates are trained to respond to them in a scripted way. Instead, ask detailed questions about their accomplishments on their resume. “You said you increased revenue by 50%, tell me about how you did that and what role others played in that process?” 3. Grill them on current trends in their area of expertise Candidates that are passionate about what they do keep up with trends in their domain. For example, if you’re hiring an SEO manager, ask about the current landscape of AI-driven content and how that currently shapes Google’s organic ranking strategy. Listen for an understanding of nuance and the ability to hear and weigh an opposing standpoint. 4. Spend time with them in a non-interview setting You’ll learn much more about someone over coffee, drinks, or dinner in-person than you would behind a computer screen. Look out for characteristics like graciousness (when you pay for the meal), politeness (to service staff), decisiveness (when ordering), etc. See if they’re someone you’d want to spend most of your time with. 5. Give them a case study to complete Getting sample work is a great way to gauge whether or not that candidate’s work product exceeds your expectations. This shouldn’t have to be a paid engagement for the most part. Tell them not to spend more than 30 mins - 1hr on it. If they actually care, they’ll spend more time and it’ll show in the output. 6. Hire them fractionally first Most people can spare 5-10 hours for a couple weeks to “test the waters” at a new job. Work with them for a bit on a fractional basis to see how they integrate with your team. By hiring fractionally first, you’ll get a great read on them and they’ll be able to gauge whether or not your company is one they want to be at long term.

Recently a developer I'm partnered with decided to reopen a search they had ongoing last year. They felt they hadn't found the right person so they paused the hiring. I reviewed the individuals they spoke with and they honestly had some of the best talent from top C&I developers. After some strategy calls and a deep analysis of their process, we agreed that the block wasn't the qualifications of the individuals. They really hadn't thought out the interview process and timeline thoroughly. It might sound like I'm stating the obvious here but sometimes hiring teams look past this. It can really impact if the role gets filled, or stays open another few months. A few things we considered that were helpful: 1. Creating a timeline. Think when you need this filled by and work backward, how many weeks do you have before this date? How many people do you want them to meet? 2. Set aside specific times solely for interviews. Nothing is worse than scheduling a 2nd interview 2 or 3 weeks after the first one. Make sure key stakeholders in the process do the same. 3. Know what questions to ask, don't wing it. You don't want to reach the end of 30 minutes or an hour and be unsure if you want to progress them. 4. Lastly, don't forget you have to sell the opportunity to the candidate too! Most placements in my experience had been passively looking. The employer needs to know, they have to do some selling of the opportunity. In this situation, we placed the position 2 months before the anticipated start date for July. All parties ended up happy and all it took was a few extra prep steps 😁 I know that not every time will there be a case where a process works out just as planned, every situation is different. Don't overlook an interview process, it can make or break filling the position!