How to Interview Candidates Successfully After the Deck has been Reshuffled

What a season we are in! Many of us are in transition with our human resource needs. Some of us have lost employees who are not comfortable coming into work and where virtual work is not an option. Some of us had to part with team members early in the Covid-19 season and now may be in hiring mode again. And some of us may recognize an opportunity to strengthen our team with otherwise displaced talent. All these reasons, combined with certain unemployment benefits winding down, will create a vast pool of job seekers. Let’s make sure we are finding the best talent available for your specific needs.

 Interviewing is hard. Let’s be honest, the majority of people suck at it. This is a brief guide to helping you and your team with objective decision making. The adage “hire correctly or hire again” is true for a reason. Even if the need is urgent, hire slowly. Make careful, informed choices and don’t rush to a decision.

 When hiring, focus intently on four factors: resume, interview, shared work and benchmarking.

Resume: Determine the minimal qualifications for position, and accept no less in your candidates.

Interview: Hold several rounds of interviews on the phone, and one or two in-person as your company sees fit. Choose who interviews correctly.

Shared work: Analyze shared work from the candidates. This can be samples of writing or a completed project.

Benchmark: Measure top candidates against the benchmark and make a decision after final round of interviews. Benchmarking leads to: higher employee engagement, a better employee talent pipeline, and less money lost on a bad hire. I suggest using a combination of DISC and EQ assessments (as well as testing unique to the company and/or position) as a part of your benchmarking. 

Benchmarks can be used for as much as 30% of the hiring decision, but the other 70% should be made based on resume, experience, skills, validation of those skills, and personal fit.

And, finally, don’t forget about objectivity. Having a disinterested or non-engaged third party’s opinion on assessments, resumes and interviews can be very useful.